The Last Talon
by Karin Matthews
Summary: It has been 20 years since Dick Grayson went missing. 15 year since he was declared dead. 10 years since a virus killed off all the Talons and the Court of Owls. 1 year since anyone thought about Richard Grayson. Until Terry, the new Batman finds a boy trapped in the ice. How will everyone cope with Dick's return and how long till the virus tries to claim the last Talon?
1. Chapter 1

It had been twenty years since Dick Grayson disappeared, kidnapped by the Court of Owls. Eighteen since the police had stopped searching. Fifteen since he was legally declared dead. Twelve years since the virus first started to show in the Talons; the assassins from the Court of Owls. Slowing them down enough to be captured. The tests had concluded the virus was attacking the electrum in the Talon's blood, shutting down their organs faster than the electrum could heal them. It had been ten years since William Cobb, Dick's great-grandfather had died in the hands of the Justice League, overcome by the virus. He took the Court of Owls with him to the grave, along with the truth of Dick's disappearance. It had been seven years since the Justice League had given up any hope of finding the first Robin. Five years since Bruce retired. Three years since Alfred had died. Two years since the mantle of Batman was passed down to Terry McGinnis. It had been one year since anyone had uttered the name, Richard Grayson.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Batman carefully placed his feet through the wreckage. Each foot tenderly lowered to the floor to avoid weak spots in the boards. Parts of the building were still smouldering hours after the fire itself had been put out. Batman slowly spun around, the lenses in his mask looking for heat signals and other forms of life.

'I dunno B.' He said, 'The heat from the fire is messing with my lenses but I don't think there's anyone here.'

' _The scan I did of the building suggests there is.'_ Said Bruce over the cowl, blunt as always.

'Well, I've done three rotations of this place and I can't find anything.' Terry said, putting his foot down. If there had been someone in here with the weak life force Bruce's computer had detected, chances are they were now dead. As much as that thought didn't please Terry, he knew sometimes it couldn't be helped. The firefighters would find the body when they did a full sweep with their machines. There was no need for Batman to be here.

'I'm pulling out.' He said, backing away towards the window before Bruce could answer.

As he neared the window he noticed a gap between two fallen beams, beyond the gap, was an old staircase to a cellar. He carefully made his way over and stared down into the darkness, he looked from side to side but his lenses picked up no sign of life. But how far down did it go? There was cold air coming up from the darkness, the fire hadn't reached this area. Taking a step forward he began to descend. The wooden stairs creaked dangerously under each step.

' _I thought you were pulling out?_ '

'I just want to check something out.' He made his way down a few more steps all the while searching with the lenses for life. He looked down when the floor beneath him creaked dangerously. He managed to cry out as the floor gave way and he fell through the staircase, darkness swallowing him.

Terry felt like he fell forever, though it probably wasn't long. The darkness screwed with his senses. When he landed, it was with a painful thud and he knew without the suit he would have broken something, or worse.

' _Terry are you alright?'_

'Yeh, I'm fine.' He looked around, 'Looks like some sort of secret cellar. From the temperature, in here I don't think anyone's been down here for years. I can't see a way out either...other than the way I came in.' He looked up and saw it was indeed quite a fall. 'I doubt the owners of the building even knew it was here'

' _Can you get out?'_

'Piece of cake, thank goodness for your latest upgrades to the s...' Batman cut off, there was something down here.

' _Terry?'_

Terry pulled himself off the floor and walked over to the shape in the darkness that had caught his eyes. It was long, rectangular like a coffin. But there was a faint blue glow coming from the top. Reaching forward Terry wiped his hand across the side and a thick layer of dust came off on his gloves. Beneath the dust was a nameplate. Terry's heart moved to his mouth. The world seemed to stop.

 **Grayson.**

Terry had heard the story of Bruce's first adopted son. How could you be in the League and not know about the disappearance of the first Robin? Bruce didn't talk about him much, neither did the others apart from Damien. Damien spoke about him sometimes. Generally, to compare Terry to him, at first it had been to show Terry how much he was getting wrong. These days he felt the comparisons were more endearing, as though he truly reminded the older man of his brother. Damien had been eight when Dick had disappeared, yet the way the man described the other was so clear, Terry felt like he could remember him too.

Terry stared at the name. Logically there were two options. Either this had nothing to do with Richard Grayson and the nameplate was a coincidence..or he was going to open this box and find the corpse of Bruce's son.

' _Terry, what's going on?'_

Terry ignored the voice in his ear and reached out a shaking hand to the lid of the coffin. It was cold to the touch and felt like glass rather than wood. He slid his hand over the top, once again removing a thick layer of dust. As the dust cleared a blue glow emanated from the glass surface, it filled the room with an uncomfortably eery light.

Terry stared down at the glass, the inside was frosted over with little stars of ice. This wasn't a coffin, he realised, it was a hibernation chamber. He'd read about these when he was reading up on the Court of Owls, although long dead they had been interesting to read about in Bruce's old case files. The Talon's used them to hibernate and heal their bodies, the electrum that made them practically immortal kept them alive in the ice for years at a time. Well, it had until the virus wiped them out.

Terry began wiping more dust from the surface until he could see a pair of feet through the iced glass. There was someone in there! Hurriedly he began wiping the other end, all the while Bruce was shouting at him in his ear.

'Oh dear God.' Terry muttered.

' _Terrance McGinnis answer me! What is going on?'_

'B, I found him.' Terry breathed, looking down at the face of the young boy in the ice. 'I found Dick Grayson.'

 **A/N This has been a plot bunny in my mind for months! So I'm very glad I am finally getting around to writing this. Full warning! The timelines in this story are not really following the comics. Other than Alfred (sorry!) no one is dead, ie Wally, Damien etc. And Bruce isn't as old as he is in Batman Beyond, he's around 60. Ok? Please review! Karin x**


	2. Chapter 2

Mount Justice was in chaos. In the hours since Bruce had called the League to Gotham to help remove the hibernation chamber, the rumour had been passed around like a game of Chinese whispers. They had found Robin, the original Robin!

The League locked down half of the cave to try and keep the situation contained. The only people allowed through other than themselves were the Bats who had descended upon the cave.

'Is it true?' Jason asked when he saw Bruce. The older man looked shaken.

'Father, is it Grayson?' Damian pressed, his hand resting on Bruce's arm, steadying the man.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for an answer.

Bruce nodded.

'Jesus.' Said Tim, rubbing his hands down his face. After twenty years they'd finally found his brothers body. 'How do you know?'

Bruce swallowed. 'Batman found him on ice.'

'The ice preserved his body?' Asked Jason. Bruce looked like he was going to throw up.

'No.' Said Damian sadly, understanding. It was the Court who had kidnapped him. There was only one reason they would put a body on ice. 'They put him in hibernation. Didn't they?'

Jason flinched violently.

'Hibernation? You mean he's alive!'

'We don't know anything yet.' Bruce said carefully, he flinched slightly when the doors opened and Superman and Wonder Woman helped carry the chamber into the room, laying it down near the medical table. The Bats drew closer, all of their eyes widening in shock and horror when the looked down through the glass.

There was their eldest brother, lying there in what looked like sleep. He wasn't breathing and Superman confirmed that he couldn't hear a heartbeat. He was as still as death and barely looked a day older than he had the day he went missing.

'We need to get him out of there.' Said Jason, touching the glass lightly with his fingers, as though checking to make sure this was real.

'Hold on.' Said Diana. 'We need to think about this.'

'Think about what?' Tim cried, 'That's Dick! He's alive!'

'He might be alive.' She corrected him. Then she turned to Bruce. 'We have three logical options here. The first being that the Court didn't change him and put him in hibernation temporarily, but then died out before they could take him out. In which case, Dick will be dead and taking him out of the chamber will start the decaying process.'

Jason took a deep shuddering breath.

'Two,' Diana continued. 'The court turned him into a Talon, we take him out of hibernation and he's alive, lost in a time that isn't his and no longer completely human. I don't know which would be the best scenario in this situation.' She admitted.

'What's the third option?' Terry said, coming to stand beside Bruce. 'You said there were three options.'

'The third option is that we take him out of hibernation, he's alive, changed by the court into a Talon, but is already infected with the virus that made them otherwise extinct.'

The room was silent as Bruce walked over to the chamber and lay his hand on the glass above Dick's face. After all this time, he couldn't believe his son was so close and yet he felt no closer to getting him back. There was no way for them to win this situation. No matter what option they took, no matter what the outcome was it would mean torture for Dick Grayson. There was a flicker of a moment when Bruce thought, perhaps it would be better if the boy were dead inside the ice. But the thought passed quickly, instead, he focused on the here and now.

Dead or not, they needed to remove the body from the ice. If he was alive, they could free him and assess the situation. If he was dead, at least they could bury him finally after 20 years of searching.

'Start to thaw him out. At the moment we have Schrödinger's cat, we won't know how to proceed until he is out of the chamber. Trust me, Diana,' he said when the Amazon opened her mouth to protest. 'I've had plenty of time to prepare myself for whatever happens. As have my boys.' He glanced at the three men and they nodded.

Terry tried to keep his face impassive. Jason and the others may have been prepared, but he wasn't so sure about himself. All he knew about Dick Grayson were the stories the others had told him. All his research on the Talon's led him to believe they were mindless killing machines that were nearly impossible to kill. Both of these factors were making him nervous. Not to mention he didn't really want to see a body suddenly start to decompose before his very eyes. Dead or alive, Terry knew this situation was making him incredibly uncomfortable.

There was a hissing sound as the lid to the chamber was brought up. As the ice inside made contact with the air it transformed into a white vapour that looked like smoke billowing out from all sides.

As with some of the other Talon's they had dealt with over the last two decades, they removed an inner plate from the chamber which the body was led on. It worked as a kind of stretcher so they were able to move the body from the chamber to a medical table easily. When he was led on the table, they began to slowly heat him back up, unthawing his body with the use of blankets and warming pads. Slowly the blue tinge to his flesh began to fade, but the pale skin never darkened to the faint gipsy tan Dick had always had growing up.

They left the body for half an hour, allowing the heating pads to heat the body slowly, so as not to damage the internal organs. Bruce and the other bats stayed in the room, watching for any signs of life. After some time had passed Clark came back in and began moving Dick's arms, legs and fingers. At first, they were stiff, like a body with rigor mortis, but after a few attempts, they began to move with ease. Clark took the temperature of the body, it was nearly back to a human's usual temperature and still, there were no signs of life. The other talons they brought out of hibernation had awoken long before now. He listened but heard nothing, there was no heartbeat.

'Bruce, I'm sorry.' He said finally.

Bruce's shoulders fell, though Clark couldn't tell if it was from remorse or relief. Maybe both.

'The body is back to room temperature. It will start to decay soon.' Clark said gently, looking to all of the bat family. 'None of you want to see that.'

Damian brought his fist down on one of the metal tables that littered the med bay. He was shaking, his breathing laboured as he tried not to cry. Bruce stood and came to rest a hand on his sons back.

'Damian, it's for the best.' He said. 'If he'd survived it would have been because he wasn't human. Two decades have passed since he was taken, can you imagine how hard his life would have been?'

Damian nodded, the 28-year-old regaining his composure. His father was right. Grayson would have been thrown into a life of hell that he couldn't escape from. It was kinder this way.

Jason and Tim joined them, both placing a comforting hand on their youngest brothers shoulder. They had all been close to Dick, but Damian had suffered the most when he went missing. Dick had brought the young boy out of his shell, made him realise that life was for living not just being a pawn in his mothers game. He made the boy feel wanted for the first time in his life. Damian still missed the weird, hyperactive presence that had been his oldest brother.

'Come on.' Said Jason, leading the way out of the room so that Clark could deal with the body before it completely decomposed. They would hold a funeral as soon as possible. Dick deserved to be laid to rest finally.

Terry followed behind, for the first time in a while he felt out of place with the other Bats. He wondered if he should leave them alone to grieve, but he didn't want to be in the room as Dick's body started the breakdown.

They were nearly through the door which Superman was holding open for them when a sudden raspy gasp echoes through the room. They all turned, alarmed at the sound.

The body was still, no sign of life except the slow, shallow rise of his chest.

'Dear God.' Clark whispered, his eyes never leaving the body. 'It's faint but there's a heartbeat.'

They rushed back over to the body, Clark picked up a needle from a draw, unwrapped it and poked one of Dick's fingers. The finger twitched away slightly.

'He's alive.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When the news spread that Dick was alive, the League had been unable to keep everyone away. Wally and Roy had forced there way in, arguing with Wonder Woman until Bruce stepped in and said they could stay. They had been Dick's best friends, they deserved to be here.

As a group they sat and waited, Bruce, the Robins, Terry, Superman, Wonder Woman, Wally, Roy and Cyborg came to see if he could be of any help. The former teen titan hadn't known the kid very long, he'd disappeared after only 4 months of the team being formed. But the Titans had felt responsible, it had been on their watch the Boy Wonder was taken. So Victor was here to represent them, it felt only right.

They sat for hours. Bruce would have said they'd imagined the whole thing if it wasn't for the consistent rising and falling of Dick's chest.

Suddenly, Superman raised his head. 'His heart rate just picked up.'

They moved closer to the body, watching as slowly the fingers and toes began to twitch, almost experimentally.

'Why is it taking so long?' Asked Wally, when again more time had passed.

'I've been thinking about that.' Said Terry. 'From what I've read and heard about from all of your accounts. I think the hibernation chambers were meant to preserve a body for a couple of years, a decade at most. From the looks of it, Dick's been in here nearly twenty years.'

'Your point?'asked Roy.

'It's like when you leave a chicken in a freezer too long. It becomes covered in ice and completely frozen solid. It takes a lot longer to defrost it.'

Bruce ignored the fact his son had just been compared to a chicken in a freezer.

'Guys, his eyelids.' Said Jason quietly.

They all stared, watching with hope as Dick's eyelids began to twitch. They opened so suddenly, violently that they all blanched back.

Bruce's heart tugged in his chest as he looked down at the yellow eyes staring up at them.

 **A/N - Had you all wondering for a moment then didn't I! Of course, Dick's alive! For now...mwahahaha. Please Review. Karin xx**


	3. Chapter 3

The golden eyes stared up, unfocused and unseeing. Then the pupils shrank, adjusting to the light and Dick blinked. A moment later he was off the table, flipping himself backwards and away from them. His body stood in a defensive position, his eyes alert. They looked over Jason, Tim and Damian. A low hiss came out of his mouth.

'Grayson?' Said Damian, watching Dick's movements. There was a look on his face, somewhere between defiance and fear. At the use of his surname, Dick coiled in on himself even more.

'Richard.' He whispered. 'I am Richard, I am not your Gray Son.' He repeated this over and over under his breath. All the while his legs began to shake, the extensive hibernation appeared to still be hindering him and he was already wearing his body out.

'Dick?' Bruce came forward, raising his hands so the boy could see he wasn't armed. 'It's ok. You're not with them anymore. The Court is dead. You're safe.'

Dick's eyes focused on him, although his body was still shaking, it began to relax slightly.

'Bruce?'he whispered.

'Yes, it's me.' He came closer but realised his mistake. The closer he got to the boy the more the boy could see the changes of time in his father. Dick stepped back, his body hitting a wall which he proceeded to shrink down, his legs no longer able to hold him up. He looked over each person in the room, the fear growing more evident of his face. He didn't recognise any of these people. Some of them looked familiar, but they were older. Much older.

Superman could hear Dick's heart beating faster and faster.

'We need to calm him down.'

Diana stood forward, like Bruce she raised her hands. Being half immortal, her appearance had changed very little over the last twenty years. Dick seemed to cling to this when he saw her. She was familiar, she was unchanged.

'Diana.' He whispered.

'Yes, it's me, Dick. Can I come closer?'

He nodded and she sank to her knees in front of him. Tenderly she took his shaking hands in one of her own, raising the other to the side of his face. He was cold to touch like the other Talon's had been, but his eyes were different. The others had been expressionless, even as they had laid there in agony, their bodies shutting down there had been very little emotion in their eyes. But Dick's were wide, the pupil dilating in the centre of the gold. She could tell he was terrified.

Dick's body seemed to finally give up and he sank forward, exhausted. Diana sat and held him practically on her lap. Cradling him to her.

'I don't understand.' Dick mumbled, half asleep.

'Don't worry Dickie, we'll explain when you wake up.'

'Don't put me in the ice.' His mumbles were even more slurred.

'We won't. Never again.' Diana said, her grip tightening on the boy as went limp in her arms. She looked up at the others, their faces were a mixture of sadness and pity. What kind of life was this child going live?

They picked Dick up off the floor and settled him into one of the beds in the med-bay. Against the white sheet, he looked pale and his body stilled again in sleep.

'What the hell just happened?' Asked Jason, eyes fixed on the boy who an hour ago had been a corpse. 'I thought you said he was dead?' He turned to Superman, who looked just as shaken.

'There were no vitals, no signs of life until just before he woke up.' Superman said, rubbing his hand through his slightly greying hair.

'Bruce?' Diana caught sight of Bruce's expression. She had never seen her friend look so old.

'He was terrified.' Bruce whispered. 'He was scared out of his mind and I couldn't comfort him.' Bruce had noticed the expression on Dicks features as he had approached. The relief that had flickered there for a moment had turned to horror and confusion when he could properly take in Bruce's aged face. He had been 45 when Dick was taken, now he was pushing 70.

'It'll be ok Bruce.' Said Tim, 'Give it time.'

'Time is the one thing we've had too much of.' Mused Bruce, then his face grew serious. 'I want someone by his side at all times.' He went and sat down by the bed, turning his back on the others, a gesture they knew meant he wanted to be left alone. All complied and left him to stare into Dick's sleeping face.

'I'm sorry Son.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dick had not dreamed in a very long time. When frozen in hibernation the body and the mind shuts down to the brink of death, there are no dreams, no reprieve from the darkness. Just endless waiting.

But he was sure he must be dreaming now, he felt warm and comfortable. There were colours everywhere, they were swirling and spinning. He couldn't quite make out shapes, only colours but they were a reprieve from the darkness so he didn't mind. He watched them for some time, feeling himself relax as they moved around him. But then a noise cut through the colours, a toneless shriek over and over.

But that wasn't right. The chamber blocked out all sound, he shouldn't be able to hear anything. But then, he shouldn't be dreaming either. The more he focused on the sound the less vibrant the colours became until soon they were nothing but bright light.

Opening his eyes felt strange, when waking from hibernation the reaction is violent, your eyes rip open of their own accord and your body flies into fight of flight readying you for your mission. This was different, he felt sluggish and tired his eyes sticking together. This wasn't hibernation, this was sleep. Actual, blissful, dream-filled sleep.

The bright light stung against his enhanced eyes, but he pushed through the pain until the light morphed into shapes and shapes became objects.

'Dick?'

It had been so long since he'd heard his name. The owls had always called him their Gray Son. The voice sounded warm and familiar.

'Bruce?' He tried to look for him but the light was too bright and everything was still slightly distorted. Suddenly, the light dimmed enough for him to open his eyes. His name was repeated and he looked in that direction, but the man sat in Bruce's place was old, though his features resembled his father.

He flinched back, realising in the back of his mind that he was in a bed, not in his chamber.

'It's ok Dick, you're safe.' The man had Bruce's voice. Dick stared at him with large yellow eyes, all the while registering there was something else in the corner of the room.

Dick's whole body tensed, both the unknown beings sensed this.

'I think he's gonna go.' Said the voice from the corner. The voice was familiar and Dick wanted to look but his eyes were latched on to the Bruce look alike.

'No he's not.' The man before him reached out and placed a hand on the bed beside him. 'You're going to remain calm, aren't you Dickie?'

Dickie? Only his family called him that. His body tensed further, his eyes flicked quickly to the other being when he sensed them come closer. The voice had been familiar but he did not recognise the man. He was younger than the other one.

'He's gonna go, Bruce.'

'Quiet, Jason.'

Jason! Dick glanced his eyes back to the other man, allowing himself a few seconds longer to analyse him before turning back to the other. That was why he looked familiar, the features were like Jasons. But Jason was 15.

Tighter and tighter his muscles became and his mind tried to process the information but kept coming up blank. He was so confused and he didn't like to be confused.

Jason remembered Dick being fast, but he didn't remember him being this fast! The kid had clocked an exit and was off the bed and halfway there before Jason could even blink. When Dick's body had started to tense, Jay had expected him to bolt but he wasn't expecting him to do it like that. Without missing another beat, he tackled the boy to the ground. Dick may be a Talon, but Jason outweighed him by a lot. He pinned him to the floor.

'Told you he was going to bolt.' He said, looking over to Bruce who was coming over to them. Jason's grip tightened as Dick began to fight back. 'Shit, I'm not going to be able to hold him! Get Dami.'

Bruce disappeared while Jason attempted to keep a squirming Dick still. By the time Bruce returned with Damian and Tim, Dick was nearly out of his brothers grasp.

The other two grabbed an arm and together then held him as still as they could, but Dick continued to flail.

Bruce knelt in from of him, trying to get his attention. When that failed he did the only thing he could think of. He told him the truth.

'Dick, you have to calm down. It's us, your family.'

Dick continued to struggle.

'I know we look different Dick, I know this is all very confusing and scary. But it's been twenty years Dick.'

Dick stopped. He looked the man in the eye and stared.

'It's been twenty years.' Bruce repeated sadly. 'How long were you with the owls before they put you in the chamber?' He didn't expect Dick to answer, but the boy thought for a moment and opened his mouth.

'A year.' He said quietly. He took the information in and his lip began to tremble. 'I've been frozen for 19 years?'

Bruce nodded. 'I'm sorry Dickie. We tried everything we could to find you.'

But Dick wasn't listening. His eyes glazed over and he went limp in his brother's arms. Defeated.

 **A/N I'm sorry there is such a long gap between chapters. I've got a lot going on so I am literally writing whenever I get the chance. This being said, I am 100% commited to finishing this story so don't worry. Follow the story and it will continue to be updated. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please please please review. Karin xx**

 **UPDATE: A quick update as a lot of people are asking about ages. Dick- 17. Bruce -65. Jason -36. Tim-33. Damian-28. Terry-17. Wally and Roy- around 38 to 40. etc.**


	4. Chapter 4

Bruce was becoming concerned. It had been three days since he had confronted Dick with the truth, after they had got him back into bed the boy had pushed himself into the corner, drawing his knees to his chest. He hadn't moved since. Have hadn't eaten or slept, he hadn't spoken or responded to be spoken too. It was alarming how long and how still he could sit.

He was watching him through the window in the door. He knew he should go in, try once again to communicate with his long-lost son, but it was breaking his heart to see Dick so unresponsive.

'Not moved yet?'

Bruce glanced to the side to see Damian coming down the corridor.

'No, he's still sat there.' Bruce sighed, 'I don't know what else to do. He won't talk to anyone, not me, Jason, Tim. He's even stopped responding to Diana.' He looked at his son and Damian shook his head.

'I can't go in there.' He said slowly, 'You saw how much he freaked out when he saw how much you've aged, imagine having to process the information that the 8-year-old boy you left is now a man. It could break him permanently.'

Bruce nodded, he knew Damian was right. Dick had reacted badly enough to Jason. He looked back through the window, Dick had still not moved.

'Hey B.' Terry was making his way towards them. 'Supes says he wants to discuss something with you.'

Bruce nodded. 'Will you watch him?' He asked Damian who agreed, taking up Bruce's place at the door.

'Still no luck huh?' Asked Terry.

'No he won't respond to anyone. I think Father is becoming very distressed by it, he doesn't know what else we can do.'

They stood for a moment in comfortable silence, both watching the small Talon beyond the glass. Suddenly, Terry straightened up.

'Has he eaten anything yet?'

Damian shook his head. 'No, but Talon's can go a fair while without food or sleep, so it's not too worrying.'

Terry suddenly disappeared, reappearing a few minutes later with a box of Spearos. A half chocolate half cookie candy bar.

'What are you doing?' Asked Dami suspiciously.

'You said when these first hit the shelves that Dick would have loved them because they were his two favourite sweets combined.'

Damian recalled saying something similar, but still didn't see where Terry was going with this.

'Trust me.' Said the new Batman. 'Just stay out here and have my back just in case he flips out.'

Before Dami could say anything else, Terry opened the door and walked into the Med-Bay.

Slowly he made his way over to the bed at the back of the room where the Talon had been for the past few days. Dick didn't react as he approached, his eyes remained downcast to the floor, his arms tightly around his knees which were brought right up to his chest.

Taking a deep breath, Terry sat down on the edge of the bed. This was something none of the others had done, they had all wanted to give Dick his personal space.

Dick still didn't react so Terry started unwrapping one the bars, taking a bite and sitting there for a moment in silence. Then he swallowed and gave a satisfied hum of approval.

'You have got to try these things.' He said, more to the ceiling than to the boy beside him.

For the first time, Dick flinched. His eyes raised to look at the man sat beside him, realising that he was completely unfamiliar and not just an aged reminder of his past.

When his eyes had raised, Terry waved at him.

'Hi, I'm Terry. You must be Dick.'

Dick blinked. Terry went back to eating.

'Seriously,' he said, nodding his head as he chewed, 'whoever thought of combining a chocolate bar and a cookie into one piece of heaven in your mouth is a genius.'

Dick didn't say anything but his grip on his leg loosened slightly.

'I heard you're quite the acrobat.' Terry continued, 'I do a bit myself, but I'm nowhere near your level as your brothers like to remind me. We've advanced the birds nest...' Terry didn't fail to notice the glint in his companion's eyes when he mentioned the aerial gym that had once been the original Robins place to "play". 'You should come have a go when you're feeling up to it.'

Dick's eyes were analysing the man sat before him. He looked around his age and his dark hair and strong build made him look like Bruce. He released his arms and let his legs fall into a cross-legged position. He watched as Terry continued to eat.

'God these are good.' Terry mumbled around the food in his mouth. He looked over to Dick. 'Want one?'

Dick didn't answer, but he didn't flinch away either. Terry got another bar from the box and began to unwrap it, not looking at the kid as he spoke.

'Tell you what, I will give you my last Spearo, if you talk to me.' It was a long shot, Terry knew that. He was literally bargaining with a chocolate bar as his only leverage. But he went with it because for the first time in 3 days Dick didn't look scared or confused or numb. He looked curious, almost intrigued by this new person. Terry peeled back the wrapper and held it so Dick could see it but not reach it. He raised his eyebrow.

Dick continued to stare at him and after a few moments, his head tilted to the side. Terry had to suppress a grin as he was reminded of Ace, Bruce's dog.

'Who are you?'

The voice was quiet, a little unsure but it was clear.

'I told you, my names Terry, Terry McGuinese.'

Dick shook his head.

'No, I didn't ask your name. I asked who you were.'

Terry finally clicked where Dick was coming from. He smiled and shrugged.

'I'm Batman.'

There was a moment of confusion which flashed across Dick's eyes, but it didn't last long and soon he was back to looking curious.

'They said Batman found me. I presumed they meant Bruce.' He titled his head to the other side. 'You found me?'

'You were listening then.' Terry smiled reassuringly. 'Yeh, I did.'

Dick nodded at this information his shoulders relaxing. 'Thank you.' He said after a while.

'You're welcome.'

'Do I deserve that yet?' Dick indicated to the chocolate bar with his eyes.

'I think so.' Terry handed it to him and couldn't help but grin as the boy from the ice took his first bite of food in nearly two decades. He saw his eyes light up.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Bruce walked back to the Medway frustrated. Superman and the rest of the league wanted to know what they could tell the other heroes and what his plan was for Dick's future. He hadn't been able to give them any answers on the second point. He didn't know where to go. With Dick not responding to them, there was no way to know how long or how hard it would be to reintroduce him into the world. As he approached, he saw Damian looking through the window.

Damian clocked his father's approach but didn't turn to look at him. Instead, he gestured with his hand for him to come and have a look. Bruce walked to the porthole and looked through, shocked by the sight.

Terry was sat on Dick's bed, facing the teen Talon. But that wasn't what caught Bruce's eye the most. Dick was talking, answering Terry's questions and asking his own. He was having a conversation! He seemed completely relaxed in Terry's presence.

'Turns out he didn't need familiarity. He needed something completely new to bring him back to reality.' Damian smiled. 'Terry got him talking using a cookie bar.'

Bruce chuckled. Something about that seemed very much like the old Dick.

 **A/N If I told you I was typing this up whilst watching the Royal Wedding, could you guess what country I'm from lol! Someone asked for the ages of the characters, I updated the last chapter to include the ages at the bottom if you're interested. Please review. Karin xx**


	5. Chapter 5

Gradually, one by one, Dick began to accept each of his family members. Bruce was the easiest, once he ignored the new wrinkles and the grey streaked hair, it was still evidently Bruce underneath. Jason and Tim were a little harder, but all told they were just larger, older versions of the boys he remembered. It was Damian that made him want to cry. The little boy he remembered was gone, replaced by a young man nearing his 30's. If he thought really hard, he could still remember what it felt like to hold the squirming child in his arms.

Dick thought he was going to break down at the memory until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him. He went stock still for a moment until a voice whispered.

'It's still me, Richard.' Damian was careful not to use his last name. Not after the reaction last time he used it.

Dick stayed still for a moment, but the arms felt comforting and they still smelled like Damian. Slowly he began to relax, leaning into the hug. This wasn't his life, wasn't the life he was torn away from. But it was ok. For now.

They gave him space to wash up, new clothes to replace the black shirt and pants the Court had dressed him in. When he felt a little more together, they fed him and offered to let him sleep but Dick refused so they settled for talking while Dick lay in bed.

The Bats sat talking around Dick's bed for a couple of hours, Bruce watching happily as Dick relaxed more and more. Until a topic they hadn't wanted to address yet came up by accident.

Damian looked at his watch and turned to Bruce.

'Father, did you let Pennyworth know that we wouldn't be back for dinner?'

Dick's head cocked to the side and he stared.

'You've still got Alfred working? He must be way past retirement by now!'

Everyone looked down to the floor, not meeting Dick's golden gaze and not wanted to be the one to answer the question. Bruce finally swallowed and took Dick's hand. The boy flinched slightly at the touch but tried his best not to pull away.

'Dick, Alfred died three years ago.'

Dick froze, even his breathing stopped to the point Bruce became worried.

'Dick, please breathe.'  
Dick shook his head slightly, he knew the second he took a breath he would loose it. He looked angrily at Damian, confused at his statement. Was it a cruel trick?

Bruce seemed to register this, he shook his head. 'Damian was talking about Annie. She's Alfred's great niece.'

It was Damian's mortified expression that softened Dick's own. Slowly he let out a shaky breath, deciding for the moment he would focus on Annie, not ...

'What does she do?' He asked.

'A bit of everything. She originally came to America after she left the Civil Service in England. She helped look after Alfred for a few years. When he...passed, she asked if she could come work for the family. Then after the Power's incident at the company, she started working in the office as-well, she's my eyes and ears to make sure nothing goes on without my knowledge again.'

Dick remembered Terry saying that his first mission as Batman was to take down the man who had taken over Wayne Corp. He was glad Terry hadn't mentioned Annie, he was glad he had heard it from Bruce.

'Does she know about everything else?'

'Oh yes, she's very helpful in that department as well. She even helps Terry train sometimes.' Bruce smiled sadly. Dick could tell he really liked Annie and judging by his brothers faces they did too.

'I'm surprised you haven't asked her to be Batgirl.' Dick mused.

Damian laughed darkly. 'One hour on the streets with McGinnis and she would kill him.'

Terry looked up and glared at him. 'We're not that bad!'

'You fight like cat and dog.'

'Only because she pulls rank.' Terry said shrugging.

'Technically she does have more experience.' Said Bruce, glad the attention had been drawn away from Alfred for the moment. 'She was part of the secret service.'

'I thought you said she was the Civil Service.' Said Dick.

'Yeh, and Alfred was only a butler.' Said Jason. He mentally kicked himself for bringing the old man back up, but Dick seemed to understand what he meant and didn't dwell. Alfred had been a part of the Queens Secret Service as well as the army before he came to America, seems his great niece was very much like him.

'You ok Chum?' Asked Bruce, aware that Dick seemed deep in thought. The boy nodded, putting on a brave face. What he wanted to do was cry, scream, mourn the fact he had lost Alfred, lost the years he could have spent with him. But he knew if he let himself lose control he would do none of those things. The only thing that happened when he let himself go was destruction. The Talons training would take over, like a reflex. He took a deep breath, he needed to stay in control.

'Do you want to sleep?'

Dick again shook his head. He didn't want to sleep, the last thing he remembered before waking up here was going to sleep in his cell. He could only conclude he was drugged before being placed in hibernation, where he would stay for nearly twenty years.

'Clark might be in a bit later.' Bruce said softly, 'He wants to take some blood samples.'

Dick's reaction to this shocked them all. Before the Court, Dick had never been bothered by needles, they were just a thing that needed to happen when you were injured. But Dick's eyes widened and his body tensed, curling in on itself.

'Why?' He said, it was quiet but demanding.

'To make sure you're alright.' Said Bruce carefully, he didn't know how much Dick knew about the virus, he didn't want to scare him. 'What's wrong?'

Dick shook his head quickly, a frown growing on his forehead.

'The last time I was stuck with needles I was turned into...well, this.' He indicated to his eyes then looked down to his knees; he looked so ashamed.

'Dick, what happened?' Bruce asked the question tenderly, no one had asked Dick about what he had experienced with the Court, they had wanted him to open up in his own time. But this was the first time Dick had addressed the fact he was a talon.

The boy shrugged. 'I don't really remember a lot from the early days, I was drugged heavily. I went to sleep in the Titans tower but I woke up in a Labyrinth. It was bright and the light never went away so there was no real way of telling how much time had passed. The only water was from a fountain, that's how they kept me drugged.' Dick brought his knees back up to his chest. 'I don't know how long they kept me in there, but Cobb kept appearing and telling me to fight.'

'Did you?' Asked Tim.

'Not at first. He would only attack me if I attacked him. But...' The frown deepened as he tried to think back to the days in the maze. 'After a while the hunger began to set in and he told me I could either fight to win or starve. So I fought and the more violent I fought the more I was fed.'

Shame spread onto Dick's face and he continued. 'Until he came one day and said that he would release me from the labyrinth, if I could kill him.' He took a shaky breath, not raising his golden eyes to meet his families gaze. 'I was so confused from the drugs and I couldn't stand to be in the maze a second longer. I attacked him...I slit his throat. They released me from the maze, covered in my Great Grandfathers blood. The next thing I knew I was tied to a table and they were injecting me with fluids that made my whole body burn. When I woke up, I was a monster.'

There was silence, all eyes were on the boy.

'But you didn't kill him.' Said Jason. 'Cobb died years ago in the Leagues custody.'

'No, Cobb is a Talon, it would take more than slitting his throat to kill him. But I didn't know that at the time.' Suddenly Dick seemed to realise what Jason had said. 'Wait, Cobb died here? How?'

They looked to Bruce, it was his call on what they were revealing to the lost teen.

'That's why we want to test your blood.' Bruce began slowly, judging Dick's reaction. 'The Court became infected with a virus, one that seemed harmless to most but incurable and deadly to the Talons.'

Dick's eyes widened for a moment but then he went deep into thought.

'The sickness.' He muttered.

'What?'

'Before I was put into hibernation, a few of the others went down with a sickness. No one could work out what was wrong with them but they were weak and were growing weaker. A few more started showing symptoms so they thought it was catching. But they put them in hibernation to heal.'

'We found the chambers and brought them all out of sleep. Each of them was infected and each one died.' Bruce explained, 'Hibernation didn't heal them.'

Dick leant back against the wall, a perplexed look on his face. He had always thought the Court was invincible.

'Richard, they put you into hibernation too. It wasn't because you were sick was it?' Asked Damian, his shoulders visibly relaxed when Dick shook his head.

'No, I wasn't sick.' Dick thought back, the last day he remembered being with the Court he had been training with Cobb and then been sent to his room. There had been a strained atmosphere, a dozen of the Talons were already sick and the symptoms were spreading. Cobb had asked him strange questions before he had left him. Did he feel light headed, did he have back pain, was he having muscle spasms. It had seemed a set of very strange questions. He had gone to bed that night not knowing he wouldn't wake up until two decades had passed.

'I think they put me in there to protect me.' He mused, 'They'd put so much work into creating me, the last thing they wanted was for me to die before they finished.'

'I'd still like to get bloods taken, just to be sure.' Said Bruce, placing his hand on Dick's knee when the younger tensed again. 'Please, for me.'

Dick took a deep breath but nodded.

The others stayed a while longer, allowing Dick to relax again before they returned to the manor. Bruce remained, it didn't feel right to leave him. He was glad of the decision when Clark walked in and Dick paled, quite the feat considering how pale the boy was already. Clark spoke briefly with Dick in a warm manner, explaining that he wanted to take some blood samples and that it shouldn't take long.

Dick had his hands locked into fists as he tried to regain a normal breathing pattern. He knew, logically, that Clark would not hurt him but his mind kept wandering back to that day, tied to a table watching helplessly as the electrum was injected into his blood stream. Then he remembered the pain afterwards, the white burning pain that had made him wish he were dead.

'Do you want to lie down Dick, that might be easiest?' Said Clark, usually lying down was the best method of taking blood for nervous patients, it meant they felt less like they were going to faint and fall over. He tried to guide him into a lying position but jumped back, shaking his head.

Bruce watched as Dick's chest rose and fell heavily, his inhuman eyes wide with terror. Whatever had happened to Dick while he was with the Court must have been harrowing for him to have an expression like that. Dick had said he had been tied to a table when the Court changed his DNA, maybe the way to get through this was to make it as different as possible to that day.

Bruce lifted himself out of his chair and onto the bed. Dick looked alarmed again, clearly thinking they were going to ambush him and hold him down.

'How about if you put your head on my shoulder, that way you won't see it coming.' He offered.

Dick considered this for a moment. No, that wouldn't be a good idea. With his emotions so on edge he was on the brink of losing control. He refused to allow Bruce to be hurt because he couldn't hold it together.

He was about to refuse when Bruce's arms wrapped around him, pressing his face into his chest. Dick struggled for a moment but stopped when he felt his fear dying down. For the first time since he had been taken by the Court he was in his fathers arms again, they were warm and they felt safe. He relaxed into his chest, closing his eyes. He felt Bruce hold him a little tighter and he knew Clark was about to inject him with the needle. But he found he didn't care as much, he was safe, he wasn't with the Court anymore.

True to his word, Clark didn't take long and all too soon Bruce was rubbing his hands over his sons back.

'All done, Dickie.' He went to pull away but Dick held tight to the front of his shirt. Bruce smiled and held onto the hug a little longer. He wasn't about to complain, it felt so good to have Dick back safe in his arms.

They sat like that until Clark came back in with the test results. Bruce looked up when the alien entered the room, internally sighing with relief when Clark smiled and shook his head.

Dick was clear.

 **A/N I would just like to quickly explain my reasoning for killing Alfred and adding my own character. Alfred is an extremely useful plot device. Need something magically done, get Alfred to do it. Need someone to add logic to an argument, bring in Alfred. But Alfred was an old man when Robin was a kid, so 20 year on even if he was still alive he wouldn't be working as a bulter still. So, I created my own British kick ass butler. I decided to make her a woman becaues there are WAY to many men in this story, need to break it up a little bit. Hope you don't mind! Please review! Karin x**


	6. Chapter 6

After two weeks the smouldering building was now stone cold. The firefighters had been through the rubble searching for any bodies and had come up empty. As far as they could tell, everyone had made it out alive, but the building was completely destroyed making it impossible for its residents to return.

This was preferable to the three shadows that entered into the wreckage. They stole through the darkness and made their way to the entrance of the cellar, upon seeing the hole in the staircase they were instantly alert. They entered through the hole and lowered themselves to the floor below.

'There's nothing down here.' Said the first, raising a hand into its hood to activate a comlink.

' _Was it destroyed?'_ A voice answered.

'No, the fire didn't reach down here.' There came a curse from the other side of the comm. 'Are you sure he was here?' Asked the second, staring intently at the first.

'Oh yeh, he was here.' Came the voice of the third from the other side of the room. They were knelt down, assessing the different levels of dust of the floor. 'There was something large and heavy here for a long time. By the looks of it, it's recently been moved. Look, you can see footprints as well.'

They all scanned the floor and through the darkness could just about make our the shape of foot prints.

The first lowered his hood in frustration to reveal a round white owl mask. 'The Gray Son is gone.'

More curses came from the other end.

'What do you want us to do?'

" _Return to the nest, there's nothing more you can do tonight?'_

'But what about the Gray Son?'

' _If he's been awakened it will only be a matter of time before we can track him. Without his Masters to control him, he's a ticking time bomb.'_

The three masked figures regrouped, listening for their orders.

'But if he's awake won't he be harder to take down?' Asked the third.

' _With any luck, he's infected and will be neutralised without much effort on our part. But even if he's not, he is a lone Talon. He is a relic from the old ways, the new Order will make short work of him.'_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dick was on edge. It had been a little over two weeks since he had awoken from hibernation, and he had yet to leave the medical wing of the cave. He understood Bruce's concern; finding out all of the other Talon's had been killed by the sickness had shaken him as well, but Clark had already cleared him. Bruce was treating him like a china doll, which in the first few days was how he had felt. But the longer he was awake (and he had not yet slept since he passed out that first day) the more he could feel his strength returning. His body was built to move, it was enhanced to be practically indestructible. It was not used to being kept captive for so long, even the Court had given him time to train and to move.

The longer he stayed within these four walls the more his body twitched and the more his muscles itched to be used. For the last few days he had settled for pacing while he was alone, moving from one end of the wing to the other. It took 25 steps each way.

'He's like a caged animal.' Said Diana, watching the boy on the security camera.'When are you planning to reintroduce him to the world?'

Bruce was also watching the boy on the screen. 'When he's ready.'

'When he's ready, or when you're ready?'

Bruce looked at the amazon princess and sighed, knowing she was right.

'He's handled everything so well, we even managed to have a talk just him and I about Alfred.' That had been a hard conversation that Dick had brought up himself. After hearing about Alfred's death several days before, he'd wanted to know more details. Had the man led a happy life, was it a kind death, did he suffer? Bruce had been glad he was able to tell Dick honestly that Alfred had lived to a ripe old age and had died one night in his sleep after spending the day with the family around him. He hadn't been sick or in pain, just old. It had been the perfect end to his long life. The only thing that had been missing was Dick.

'So what's the problem?'

'He's handling it too well.' Said Bruce, his grey eyes following Dick as he walked back and forth across the screen. 'He's keeping himself so controlled and I can't work out why. He has every right to freak out, but he hasn't. I worry that if I introduce things too soon it will become too much for him.'

'But if you don't stimulate him soon he's going to go crazy.' Diana added. Dick had stopped pacing and was now bending himself backwards. 'Take him down to the gym.' She suggested.

Bruce shook his head, explaining that he didn't want to let Dick spar until he knew the extent to what the Court had drilled into him.

'Then don't let him spar, let him go in the Robin's Nest. It was made for him after all.'

Bruce considered this and smiled at the thought. Dick was going to love all of the improvements they had made to the nest. What had once taken up a small corner of the gym now spanned over the entire ceiling. After Dick had disappeared the nest had been Damians domain and the young man had taken it on as a personal project. Bruce knew his son had his eldest brother on his mind every time he made an improvement to the apparatus. Now, Dick was finally going to be able to experience it.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Do you think you're up for it?'

Dick stared at him. For the last few days all he had wanted to do was get out of this room. Now that Bruce was here, in front of him, offering him an exit he was suddenly reluctant to leave.

'Where would we go?'

'I was thinking down to the Robin's Nest.'

Dick's face lit up momentarily before the wary expression returned once again.

'Is anyone else down there?'

'There might be a few people. But they know not to approach you all at once.' Bruce reassured him. 'Unless you want to stay here for a few more days?'

Dick shook his head quickly. No, he did not want that.

'Tell you what. We'll test out the gym and if you feel comfortable enough, I'll see about getting a room set up for you so you don't have to come back here. Sound good?'

Dick nodded, the thought of not having to come back to these four walls was a welcome one. He followed Bruce out of the room and into a hallway, the change in temperature made the hair on his arms stand on end. It wasn't uncomfortable but he noticed it. The temperature in the court had always been carefully regulated, the Talon's heightened sensitivity had been something they always kept in mind. Because he never had the chance to go on a mission, Dick had never exposed his new body to the real world. He was going to have to get used to his body feeling every change to his environment.

When they entered the gym it was bright, but thankfully artificial lights were the one thing Dick had grown accustomed too since his transformation. As they walked further in, Dick noticed it was empty, for which he was glad.

'I notice none of you guys wear sunglasses or masks around here anymore?' Dick quizzed his father as they approached a bench.

'No.' Said Bruce, 'After you went missing I felt our best chance of finding you was if everyone in the League and on the Team knew they were looking for Robin or Dick Grayson.'

'You revealed your identity for me?' Dick stopped. He didn't know why this information surprised him.

'Of course.' Said Bruce, 'Dick you're my son, I did everything in my power to find you, I...'he stopped and took a breath. Even with Dick stood safely in front of him, the guilt of failing him was weighing heavy on his shoulders.

'Bruce...Dad, the Court of Owls were designed for staying off the radar. They literally lay in waiting for years at a time in hibernation. Please don't blame yourself for what happened.'

Bruce went to retaliate but Dick beat him too it.

'They took me because of who my family was because I was Richard Grayson the Great Grandson of William Cobb. They didn't take me because I was Robin or even because I was Bruce Wayne's ward. None of it was your fault.'

That's when Bruce noticed it for the first time. The vulnerability Dick had shown for the first few weeks was starting to fade away. He was still unsure of himself and Bruce could see he was on edge but the way he held himself was more confident.

He stood aside as Dick's gaze went up into the rafters and he saw the Robin's Nest for the first time.

'Is that the nest? Holy crap, Terry wasn't kidding when he said you'd upgraded.'

'You like it?'

Dick turned and grinned at the new voice that had entered the gym.

'It's incredible.'

'Give it a try.' Damian took a seat next to his father and they watch Dick masterfully assent the ropes into the construction.

Dick started off slow, reintroducing his body to his old acrobatic skills. The Court had trained him to fight, to kill and how to be mortally injured but get back up anyway. What they hadn't allowed him to do was reminisce about his old life by doing the thing he loved most. Flying.

After a while, his moves became more complicated as he made his way through the new twists and turns Damian had added to the equipment. He was in his element and completely in the zone, he hadn't realised he had drawn a crowd until a loud 'WOW!' echoed up into the rafters with a voice he didn't recognise. Startled, Dick's hand slipped on the handle he had been aiming to grab hold of. His stomach twisted as his body started to descend. But before panic could set in, Williams training took hold. He twisted his body like a cat so that he was able to grab a rope that had been hanging behind him. His hands burned as he held on tight, slowing his descent to the ground. When his feet touched base, there were people all around him.

'Richard are you alright?' Damian took him by the shoulders, checking him over with a careful gaze. 'Shit, you're bleeding.'

Dick looked down at his hands and saw they were covered in blood that was starting to drip onto the floor.

'I'll go get a first aid kit.' Said Bruce.

'Don't bother.' Said Dick quietly but Bruce was already gone. In his absence, Dick turned to the others around him and started. Before him was a boy of no more than thirteen, with bright red hair, tanned skin and green eyes.

'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. God, that's a lot of blood, are you ok. Mom and Dad are gonna kill me when they find out what happened. You're not going to tell, are you? Am I in trouble?'

The kid was talking a mile a minute and all Dick could do was blink. If his hands hadn't been covered in blood he would have rubbed them into his eyes because he couldn't believe what he was seeing before him.

'West, shut up.' Said, Damian, as he took the first aid kit off Bruce who had just returned. He started wiping at Dick's hands with a sterile wipe. 'God, you're hands are going to be wrecked.'

'They're fine.' Said Dick, not taking his eyes off the boy.

'Richard have you seen the blood. You're lucky you didn't...' Damian cut off short as he wiped more blood away. Under the red, there were no open wounds, not even a blister. 'What the hell?'

Dick pulled his hands away.

'I told you I'm fine.' Not wanting any more attention paid to his hands he turned to the boy. 'Who are you?' He asked.

'Oh right!' The ginger said, looking like a deer in headlights. 'My names Ben, Ben West.'

Before Dick could respond another voice echoed loudly through the room and Ben's shoulders tensed.

'Benjamin Barry West!"

Dick noticed that Bruce was staring at him funny, the kind of look you give a wild animal when you're trying to judge what they are going to do. But when Dick saw who was walking over to them he realised why. The man had the same red hair and green eyes as Ben but there were freckles all over his ageing face.

'I told you not to come down here.' He said, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder.

'Sorry, Dad.'

The redhead looked over to Dick.

'It's nice to see you awake again Dickie Bird.' He looked at the Talon with kind eyes and an expression that was very similar to Bruce's.

Dick felt his lip quiver slightly, it was becoming hard to stay in control of his emotions. The last time he saw the man before him, the redhead had been 18 and he had been calling by to check up on how the new leader of the Teen Titans was doing.

He took a deep breath and for the first time in over twenty years, he said his best friends name.

'Wally.'

 **A/N OMG, last month was crazy! I was doing a project for work that involved me writing an article every day of the month, which is why the chapters have been a bit spread out and why I'm not completely happy with the previous chapters. I wrote over 81,000 words last month which is a little insane! But now I can actually put my attention on this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what your thoughts are in the reviews! Karin xx**


	7. Chapter 7

'Wally.'

Dick didn't know whether to smile, hug his friend or just lie down in a fetal position. This was all becoming way too much. Wally, Kid Mouth, his best friend was not only grown up but he had a kid! A teenager no less.

'Your eyes are really weird.' Said teenager was looking at Dick intently, leaning forward to get a better look without actually getting closer to the Talon.

'Ben!' Wally reprimanded, before looking back to Dick. 'Sorry, doesn't have a filter between his brain and mouth.'

'That sounds familiar.' Dick heard himself say and as Wally laughed he felt more at ease.

'Ben, go find your mother.' Wally said and in the blink of an eye, Ben was gone. Yep, definitely Wally's son.

'I take it you finally got a girlfriend then.' Said Dick lightly, he had no idea how to address this situation.

Wally laughed again more self consciously and raised a hand to rub the stubble on the side of his face.

'Yeh, even got her to marry me.'

Dick didn't mean for his expression to sadden, he tried his best to hide it. But Wally was married. He had missed his best friends wedding. The birth of his best friends child. He had missed so much. It wasn't fair.

'Who's the lucky lady?' He asked, trying to distract himself from his lowering thoughts. Again Wally laughed.

'Artemis actually.'

'Took them long enough.' Damian said quietly. Clearly, the sexual tension between the two young heroes had continued long after Dick had left the team...and disappeared. 'I'm going to help Annie with some prep work for Batman.' He gave Bruce a look.

'I will help you.' He said. As much as it was making him feel slightly sick, he knew he needed to let Dick have some independence and start experiencing things on his own again. Catching up with his old friend wasn't something he needed his father for.

After they were gone the two friends stood before each other awkwardly.

'So how you holding up?' Said Wally, walking over to the bench and sitting himself down on it. There was plenty of space for Dick but the young Talon stayed standing, rubbing the remaining blood on his hands.

'I'm ok.'

'Really?

'No.' Dick admitted, looking up into the nest. He'd fallen from it once when he was younger. He'd broken his ankle for his troubles. Turning his attention to his hands he took in the smooth, undamaged flesh that covered them. It was just a reminder of what he had become. 'Everything is so different.'

'I can't even imagine what you're going through. Or what you've been through!' Wally said gently. Dick could see the concern all over the gingers face. He hated that everyone was so concerned about him.

'I'll be ok.' Dick said thoughtfully.

Wally could tell his young friend was hiding how much he was hurting, but he knew better than to push so he settled for smiling.

'You always were good at getting back on your feet.'

Back on your feet.

' _Get back on your feet, Richard.'_

 _Dick shook from the pain in his leg. He tried to stand but his knee was shattered._

' _I can't.' He croaked._

' _Get back on your feet.' William repeated._

' _I can't!' Dick shouted._

' _Yes, you can. Allow the electrum to heal your wound.' William said somewhat patiently._

' _It burns.' Dick whimpered. He'd thrown his pride away hours ago. Every time Cobb injured him he had to heal the wound and it hurt. It burned his flesh just as it had the first time the electrum entered his bloodstream._

' _The more you do it, the less it will hurt. Now get up!'_

 _Dick panted for a few moments before relaxing ever so slightly, enough for the electrum in his blood to pinpoint the place of trauma. He grits his teeth as it collected around his shattered knee and began piecing it back together. After a minute or two, the burning started to subside and he brought his leg under himself and pushed his body off the floor._

' _Good. The more you surrender to the process the quicker you will heal. Remember you can't hesitate in combat.'_

' _I know.'_

 _Cobb glared at him._

' _Grand Master.' Dick corrected himself, hating every second of doing so._

' _Good. Now try again. We are going to continue until you can heal faster. We did not make you stronger so you could disappoint us, Gray Son.'_

'Dick?'

Dick blinked, his eyes refocusing. Green eyes were right next to his face.

'You ok Buddy?'

Dick suddenly felt very tired. For a moment there he had felt like he was back in the Court. He could even feel the remnants of the burning sensation in his knee. He remembered that day. Cobb had made him train for hours, inflicting injury after injury on him until he could heal them without so much as blinking in discomfort. After shattering his knee he had severed an artery in his arm, then stabbed him in the chest. He had ended the session by slitting his throat. An eye for an eye he had said.

He sank to the floor, trying to shake the memories away.

'Dick, when was the last time you slept?'

Dick shook his head, shrugging. Nineteen years ago apparently.

'I'm a Talon.' He whispered. 'We don't need as much self-care as humans.'

It broke Wally's heart to hear Dick say the word human as though it no longer applied to him. He wasn't an idiot, he could see the changes in Dick. The eyes, the pale complexion, the way his body twitched and reacted to everything around him as though it was always on high alert. But he had seen the Talon's when they had been awakened from hibernation. Even though they were sick and dying, they were still terrifying and inhumanly emotionless. They were like machines. But Dick couldn't have been more different. He showed all his emotion on his face, he sounded and acted just like Robin had when he was still on the Team. Dick may have been a Talon physically, but at heart, he was still very much human.

'You may not need as much, but you do need some.' He sat crossed legged in front of him. 'You look exhausted, Dick.'

'I can't sleep.' Dick admitted. 'When I'm alone my mind starts to over think and I end up convincing myself if I sleep I will wake up and another twenty years will have passed.' It felt good to finally admit that to someone.

Wally thought for a moment and decided upon something. 'If you're up for meeting two more people and you can put up with my son's verbal diarrhoea, I think I've got an idea.'

Dick relented and followed Wally down the corridor towards the living area. He noticed as they went that everything was very quiet.

'Where is everyone?'

'It's summer vacation so the Team is most likely down at the beach, the rest of the League are at the headquarters.' Wally explained. In truth, as soon as the heroes had been told that Dick was venturing out into the rest of the cave they had made themselves scarce; not wanting to overwhelm the boy.

They made their way into the living room and two women looked up as they entered. A blonde woman stood first, slowly coming over with a sad smile on her face.

'Hello, Dick.' She said.

'Hi, Arty.' The tight feeling in his chest returned and he struggled to swallow it down, especially when the second woman approached. Her hair was long and dark, her skin as pale as his own. Bright purple eyes stared at him knowingly, her empathic abilities no doubt picking up on his anxiety.

'It has been a long time...Robin.'

'Hello, Raven.' Hearing the name of his old persona tightened his chest even more and the empath was picking up on it.

'It's ok.' She said. 'You don't have to be so controlled.'

But I do, Dick thought. The alternative did not bear thinking about.

'Come and sit down here.' Wally directed him to the couch and he sat down in the corner, drawing himself into a ball. Wally then turned to Raven and asked her how the improvements to the Titans Tower were coming along. Soon all three of them were in deep conversation, the room felt relaxed and dare he even say safe.

Ben entered soon after and upon seeing Dick came and sat beside him.

'I'm really sorry about earlier.' The thirteen-year-old said. 'I didn't mean to distract you, but you were seriously amazing up there.'

'It's ok.' Said Dick, 'no harm done.' He raised his palms to show the kid he wasn't injured.

Ben sighed in relief and continued to talk to his new friend. Dick was surprised how often the kid could switch topics; Wally hadn't been kidding when he said his son had verbal diarrhoea. Despite this, Dick decided he liked him. He reminded him of what Wally had been like when he had first met the speedster. Slowly, as he listened to Ben rattle on, his eyes began to close. With the voices of his friends all around him, he felt safe.

Artemis nudged her husband with her foot, nodding her head in the direction of the couch. All adults turned to see Ben scrolling through his phone and still talking whilst Dick had curled up on his side and was now asleep.

'Would you look at that.' Said Artemis, getting the Boy Wonder to actually sleep had been a task when they were younger. Now they had gone through the trials of getting a baby to sleep every night it suddenly didn't seem as hard.

'Parenting,' said Wally, leaning back in his chair. 'It's a superpower.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Anastasia Pennyworth was good at following her gut instinct. It was what made her a good agent working for GCHQ back in England and what had ultimately landed her the job working with the secret service. Her stubborn nature and general lack of appreciation for the proper protocol was what lost her the job as an agent but was a trait that was appreciated and valued working with Batman.

'Bruce, you might want to come and have a look at this.' Annie's fingers flew across the keyboard with a practised speed.

'What's wrong?'

'After Terry found the hibernation chamber in the underground cellar I did some digging into the fire itself. It was arson and a professional job at that.'

'Why would someone purposefully burn down that building?' Bruce mused, 'It wasn't worth anything and no one would benefit from the insurance.'

'Exactly, unless whoever started the fire knew the chamber was down there.'

'Only problem to your theory,' said Terry, half dressed in his Batman suit. 'The fire never reached the chamber.'

'No, but I looked into that as well. The fact that the fire didn't completely destroying the structure and send it crumbling to the lower cellar is nothing short of a miracle. If it had, I doubt Terry would ever have found your son.'

'So somebody may or may not have set the fire to kill Dick. Is that all you've got?' Asked Terry, sneering at the young Brit.

'Of course not Terence.' She turned back to the computer. 'After you guys removed the chamber I asked Damian to plant motion cameras. And they were recently activated.' She pressed a button and footage popped up onto the screen. Everything was a weird shade of green, allowing them to see three figures in the darkness. They descended into the cellar and then one of them lowered a hood, revealing a round white mask. Annie paused the footage.

'Look familiar.'

'The Owls.' Said Bruce.

'You mean the Court of Owls? The Owls who took Dick? The Owls that are extinct? Those Owls?' Said Terry.

'I don't think so.' Bruce re-wound the footage and watched them decent again. 'Dick said that the Court placed him in hibernation to protect him from the virus. If he meant that much to them, why would they try to kill him? Besides...' He watched it again. 'If the Owls had wanted to kill him, they would have succeeded.'

'So who are these guys?'

'I don't know. But we are going to find out.'

 **A/N I am on a role. Trying to get as much of this story done before something else crazy comes up in my life to stop me! How are we enjoying the story so far? I promise there will be more action scenes to come, I have them planned out but it's just a case of moving the story alone to get there. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews! Thanks for reading. Karin x**


	8. Chapter 8

A few weeks passed and Dick's face became a well-known entity within the base. Those who Dick had known in his past were happy to have him back in their lives and those who hadn't known him quickly grew to love him.

Ben was especially fond of the person he had come to know as 'Uncle Dick.' Whenever he finished school he would go to the base to spend some time with the Talon, this time was mostly spent teaching him how to use modern technology and playing video games. Ben kept pestering him to teach him some acrobatic tricks but Dick refused. He had yet to return to the gym after his fall and avoided training or the subject of training at all costs.

Other than Ben, Terry tried to spend time with the long-lost bat. Technically they were the same age, so he felt it might be a comfort to have someone else around who wasn't an adult. Besides, Terry liked to hear Dick's stories of when he was Robin.

When Terry and Ben were at school, Dick spent a large part of his time alone, trying desperately not to think about the mess his life had become. His body had started to ache, the longing to fight growing worse every day. He could feel all his muscles twitching, the Talon in him straining to be used. But he would not allow his family to truly see the monster he had become. He would not show them what he was truly capable of. He lay on the sofa, trying to push down the feeling growing through his body.

'You ok?'

He'd been so focused on his body he hadn't heard Bruce approach. Opening his eyes he saw the man standing above his head, from the angle he was led it looked as though he was upside down.

'Yeh. Just thinking.' said Dick and Bruce gave him a sympathetic look.

'A dangerous pass time.'

Dick nodded and slowly sat up. He had been staying in the base for the past few weeks while Bruce and Annie sorted out security around the manor and a potential story they could spin to the press should anyone catch a glimpse of the boy. It had been a long wait, coming up with a believable story to explain the new kid with the yellow eyes had not been easy.

'It's ready.' Bruce grinned. 'You ready to go home?'

'Yes.' Dick said in relief. He followed Bruce towards the new zeta beams, more than ready for a change of scenery. The whirling lights of the zeta beam felt a little different to how he remembered them but the sudden darkness of the cave was extremely familiar. In fact, as he looked around he noticed the cave had changed very little. This was comforting. As they walked through the cave Dick could hear shouting.

'Oh my God McGinnis! Why do you have to be such a stubborn arse!' A woman's voice yelled.

'Why do you have to act as though you know more than me.' That sounded like Terry.

'I hate to break it to you kid, but you've been Batman a little over a year. I was an agent for her Majesty for nine years.'

'Well then, why don't you fly back home to London.'

There was an exasperated growl.

'I'm from Cheltenham!'

Bruce cleared his throat loudly and two heads popped up over the side of the catwalk above.

'When you two are quite finished.' Said Bruce, though it held no seriousness. The bickering appeared to amuse him.

'Sorry, Bruce. On my way.' Within minutes the two were down on the ground level and were making their way over to them. Dick took a moment to take in the appearance of Terry's companion. She was younger than he had expected, maybe early 30's, long brown hair tied in a braid down her back. She wore jeans and a t-shirt and had a pair of thin framed glasses perched on the top of her head. She was literally the opposite to Alfred in every way possible and yet she held herself with the same proud grace and when she spoke, without the echoing of the cave, her accent was thick with British poise and articulation.

'Hello, you must be Dick.' She smiled a soft gentle smile that lit up her face. 'I'm Anastasia Pennyworth, but please call me Annie.'

Dick had thought he would hate Annie. A living, breathing reminder of the man he had lost. But he found so many differences in the woman before him that it didn't make his heart yearn for Alfred, but enough similarity to make her presence comforting. He took the hand she had extended to him and shook it, very glad when she didn't react to how cold his flesh was.

'Nice to meet you.' He said.

'I've prepared your room for you and sorted out a few other odds and ends.' Annie continued, turning back towards the stairs. They followed her up into the main house.

Dick flinched a little once they were out of the cave, his sensitive ears were picking up on every small sound throughout the manor. The ticking clocks, the settling walls, the pipes creaking. Had it always been this noisy? Ignoring his minor discomfort he followed Bruce and Annie through the house, all the while taking in the familiar surroundings and noting all the small differences. From somewhere in the house he could hear a scratching and low whine.

'Before we head upstairs and you can settle in,' Annie said, heading to the French patio doors at the back of the study. 'I think I'd better show you where the satellite boundary lines are.'

Dick gave her a confused expression.

'Tim and I managed to set a radius around the manor to be a dead zone. Just in case any reporters try to send a drone over the property. It means you can go outside without having to worry about being seen.' She opened the doors and Dick's ears were hit with a rush of sound.

He quickly put his hands over them to block out some of the painful noise but it did little in the way of helping. The sound was making his eardrums ache and he could focus on nothing but how much they hurt. He realised he must have fallen to his knees when Bruce's arms were around him and practically pulling him onto his lap.

Annie quickly closed the doors and fell to her knees beside them, trying to see if Dick was injured.

Once the sound had ceased, Dick felt the familiar burning of the electrum in his ears. They were so sensitive to sound that the noise of the outside world had burst his eardrums. Once the burning subsided, Dick felt annoyed at himself. He had never properly introduced his new oversensitive senses to the outside world before now. When Talons were first deployed they spent a week integrating themselves so that the world would not overwhelm them. Once they were used to it, they were ready to be sent out on missions. Dangerous and practically unstoppable.

Dick explained this to Bruce when the ringing and burning in his ears finally subsided.

'The world has become a lot louder in the last twenty years.' Bruce mused. 'We don't really notice it because it happened over time and we've been exposed to it every day.' He paused, waiting for Dick's shoulders to relax. 'You ok?'

'Yeh, I'm fine. Let's not do that again though.'

'I'll see if we can find something to help with the problem.' Said Annie, helping first Dick and then Bruce to their feet. Dick shook his head a little to shake off the remaining ring in his ears and he became aware of the sounds around the house once again. The scratching sound was getting louder.

The front door slammed and someone made their way through the foyer to the back of the house.

'Anyone home?' It was Jason.

Annie suddenly launched herself towards the door.

'Jason, don't let the dog...' There was a crash and something came thundering through the house.

Dick flinched back as a huge black Great Dane came hurtling into the room and right up to him. It growled, bearing its sharp teeth, its shoulders hunched ready to fight. Dick wasn't particularly afraid, when you heal as fast as he did you gained a new perspective on fear. But he could see this dog clearly didn't like him.

'Ace, down boy.' Bellowed Bruce. The dog hesitated a moment before backing down and coming to sit at Bruce's feet still staring angrily at Dick.

Jason came running into the room a moment later, a look of alarm on his face.

'Shit, sorry I didn't realise you guys were here. Dick are you ok?'

Dick nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed. He thought he would feel better once he was back home, but the differences were even worse here. He felt even more out of place.

'Can I go to my room? Please.'

'Of course.' Said Bruce, 'Do you want someone to come with you.'

'No, I'm good. Just...keep him here.' He nodded towards the dog as he left the room. Jason let him pass, squeezing his shoulder as he did. Dick headed up the stairs two at a time, an action that felt comfortingly familiar. He let muscle memory take him to his bedroom door on the second floor. He rested his hand on the doorknob for a moment, taking in the feeling of the cool brass. When he opened the door he smiled. Everything about the room was the same, the bed had been made and everything was clean, but all his books were still on the shelves along with his pictures. He went to the wardrobe and pulled opened one of the doors, inside were new sets of hoodies, t-shirts and jeans. He suspected all of this was more Annie's doing than Bruce's.

Deciding he was mentally exhausted, he flopped down on the bed and buried his head in the pillow, closed his eyes and hoped the world would just dissolve away.

 **A/N Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been really struggling with this chapter. I knew I needed to get Dick into the manor but wasn't sure how to do it. Funny story, the argument between Annie and Terry has actually happened to me (not the bit about being Batman or a spy, the bit about going back to London). I have a lot of American friends and all of them, when they first meet me, assume I am from London because I am British...I've never been to London, it's miles from where I live but it's such a common misconception. I'd like to note I'm not from Cheltenham either but GCHQ headquarters is in Cheltenham so I figured it made sense. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review. Karin x**


	9. Chapter 9

Dick lay staring at the ceiling for a long time that night. The house sounded as though it were alive and the constant noise was keeping him awake. Sure, there had been white noise in the base, but everything there was high tech and with so many heroes sleeping there with super hearing, it was designed to be relatively quiet. This was an old house and it practically whispered with all its history and secrets.

It was after three and as far as he was aware everyone else had already headed to bed. Bruce had popped his head around the door hours ago, but Dick had pretended to be asleep. He really didn't feel like sharing his thoughts. The feeling of impatience was growing in his body, desperate to train. He could practically feel the electrum building in his veins, preparing for a battle that wasn't going to come. William had warned him about this. If a Talon were to stay inactive to for too long, it would slowly drive them crazy. The only way around it was to go into hibernation. It was the Court's way of ensuring their assassins didn't grow a conscience and attempt to escape.

He rolled off the bed, slowly padding his way silently to the door. Maybe, if he spent an hour alone in the gym the feeling would start to dissipate. He carefully turned the doorknob and creaked it open.

Or maybe not.

Sat outside his bedroom door was Ace. The dog raised its head as the door opened and he let out a low growl once he smelt it was Dick. He appeared to be keeping a visual on the newcomer. Dick didn't blame him, he knew dogs were intelligent and they could sense danger. Ace had picked up on how dangerous Dick was the moment he had entered the house. Despite everything, Dick decided he liked the dog. Bruce wasn't getting any younger and he liked the thought that Ace would be able to protect him should he need it and the others weren't around. This being said, it did mean his plan of secretly going to the gym to relieve some tension was pretty much down the drain.

Deciding he didn't want to lie in bed and wait for the sunrise, he started looking around his room for something to distract himself. He ran this fingers along the spines of his books as he circled the room. His fingertips brushed over the glass of the picture frame on one of the shelves. It was a picture of him and his brothers. He was 14, Jason was 13 and Tim was 10. It was a time before Damian had joined them. They had been wrestling on the living room rug when Bruce had taken the snapshot. Jason was swearing, his face contorted in fury, Tim was grinning a toothy grin, one of his front teeth had fallen out the day before. And Dick had his head thrown back in laughter. It was a rare moment of pure joy, a moment where all three of them forgot their pasts, forgot the horrors of the night and just revelled in what they had then and there; each other.

Dick turned away from the picture and for the first time in a while caught a glimpse of his reflection in the full-length mirror. He didn't look all that different in the darkness, his skin stood out a little more than it used too. Thanks to the electrum, he hadn't changed all that much in the year he had spent with the Court. He was a 37-year-old with a 17-year-old mind in a 16-year-olds body. Jesus, why was his life so messed up!

A cloud moved away from the moon and the moonlight filled the room, causing his yellow eyes to reflect into the mirror. They seemed to glow in the eery light.

He gripped his hands into fists tightly, so tight that blood began to squeeze between his fingers. He watched the red ooze for a moment before opening his hands and letting the burning sensation heal the wounds. To his horror and relief, the tension in his muscles relaxed ever so slightly.

Electrum has three uses. It heals the body, heightens the senses and it also increases the potential of the muscles, making the host faster and stronger than the average person. By injuring his hand, Dick realised he had shifted some of the building electrum from his muscles into the wound.

Slowly, not taking his eyes off his hands he walked over to the window seat and sat down with his back to the moon. With shaky hands he grasped one his fingers, hesitating at what he was about to do. Taking a quick breath, he bent the finger back slowly until it resisted, then he pulled it a little more and a little more until suddenly the bone snapped.

He didn't flinch at the pain of it breaking, or when the burning surrounded the finger or even when it snapped back into place. But he sighed at the relief the action brought him once it was healed. He did it again to the next finger and then the next until he had broken and healed each of the fingers on his left hand. The tension in his body that had been building for the last week or so was still there, but the test with his fingers had taken the edge off.

He sat there for a long time, even after the sun began to rise and the room became a soft orange colour. His ears picked up some movement downstairs and he figured it was probably safe to leave the room now. His theory was right when he opened the door Ace was nowhere to be seen. Leaving his feet bare he padded down the stairs and headed to the kitchen where there were sounds of someone moving around.

Annie was in the kitchen emptying the dishwasher. She had a pair of earbuds in her ears and didn't seem to notice when he walked in. It wasn't until Ace, who was sat in a dog bed at her side, barked that she turned around. The poor woman jumped a mile, ripping the earbuds out of her ears and grasping at her heart.

'Sorry.' Said Dick. 'I didn't mean to scare you.'

'You're alright.' Said Annie, getting her breathing back to normal. 'I'm just not used to anyone else being up at this time.'

'What time is it?' Asked Dick, he hadn't bothered to check.

'Just gone five.' She said. 'Do you want some breakfast?'

He shook his head and thanked her anyway.

'Oh before I forget, wait here...' Before Dick could say anything else she left the room, leaving him alone with the dog. He looked down at the massive creature who seemed to be glaring at him.

'Really?' Asked Dick. He rolled his eyes and walked over to the mutt, just before he reached him he sat down cross-legged on the floor and waited. The dog instantly had its ears up, after a moment's hesitation it stood and walked over to Dick. From his position on the floor, the dog towered over him, but Dick stayed where he was. He let the dog sniff him for a moment and then he held out his hand slowly, again Ace sniffed it. Dick then very slowly moved his hand to pet the dogs head. Ace flinched at first but as Dick started petting him gently, the canine seemed to relax, no longer seeing Dick as a threat.

'Well, I'll be damned.' Annie had returned to the kitchen. 'Ace doesn't normally come around to people that quickly. How did you do that?'

'I did a similar thing to Damian when he first arrived. He was seven and had a foul temper. Wouldn't let anyone near him.' Dick explained with a smile.

'The foul tempter is still there.' Said Annie with a grin and a wink. 'Here, try these.'

She handed him a small box, inside were two small devices that looked like hearing aids. He looked at her curiously.

'I got them from work years back. My fiancée... ex-fiancee, used to snore like a motorbike. These filter sound. I'm hoping they will help with your sensitive hearing problem.'

Dick brushed over the fiancee comment, he figured it was something she didn't want to talk about. He popped the devices into his ears like earbuds and instantly sighed in relief. The sounds of the house that had kept him up last night stopped. For a moment there was blissful silence.

'I take it they work?' Said Annie and he could hear her loud and clear.

'How can I still here you?'

'They only filter out consistent frequencies or what most would call white noise. So don't go near any explosions because they won't save your ears from that. But it means you can block out the city noise whilst still being able to hear people talk.'

'That's really clever.' Said Dick, technology really had advanced over the last two decades.

'I should think so, they're not available to the public. Being an agent of her majesty had its perks.' She winked at him again and went back to clearing the dishwasher.

'Thanks, Annie.'

'No problem.'

Dick sat at the kitchen table and chatted with her as she walked around the kitchen preparing breakfast for the others. Ace came and sat beside him, still a little cautious, but when Dick's hand came absentmindedly onto the dogs head and started scratching behind his ear, Ace became more relaxed and closed his eyes.

Eventually, the others came down to join them all in various states of wakefulness. Bruce and Damian were wide awake, Damian was even dressed. Jason came down looking like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards, the white streak at the front of his hair stood up like a weird horn. Tim was probably the worst, he moved in slow sluggish movements and his eyes were dropped like he was sleepwalking.

'What the hell's wrong with you?' Dick asked, still stroking Ace.

'Don't bother talking to him until he's had at least one cup of coffee.' Said Annie, placing the said cup of coffee in front of Tim. The man grunted thanks and started sipping the black liquid tenderly.

'You're up early, Dick.' Bruce commented. 'Did you sleep well?'

'Not really, everything a bit strange. But I'll get used to it.'

'What's this?' Damian brushed his fingers across Dick's ear, pushing his hair behind it.

'I gave them to him.' Annie said, 'To help with his sensitive hearing. They're not the most conspicuous things ever, but they work a treat.'

'And I see you've befriended Ace.' Said Jason with a yawn. 'You looked terrified of him yesterday.'

'I think he was more afraid of me.' Said Dick thoughtfully. 'Don't forget, I'm not exactly human anymore, he could probably smell it on me.'

There was a weird silence across the table as though Dick had mentioned a taboo subject. He wasn't sorry, the fact that he was a Talon was something that couldn't be changed. If his family were really planning on sending him back out into the world, and he was sure that they were, this was a fact they wouldn't be able to ignore forever.

As he waited for someone to say something, he pulled his middle finger down towards his palm with his thumb until he felt the digit pop from its socket. The process of it healing distracted him from the silence momentarily.

'I wanted to talk to you about that.' Said Bruce suddenly. Dick worried that the man had noticed his hands under the table.

'Talk about what?' He asked innocently.

'I notice you've been avoiding the gym. Does it have something to do with the Talons? Are you afraid of what the Court taught you?'

Damn it, Bruce. Dick thought, even after all this time, the man seemed to know him too well.

'I don't see the point in training.' Said Dick 'I don't plan on going back out there, so what's the point.' He hoped Bruce would accept the answer.

'It might help you to relax.' Said Bruce. 'You seem very one edge.'

'You try waking up in a different time zone.' Said Dick without any malice. 'It might set your nerves on edge too.'

'Fair point.' Bruce chuckled.

By this time, Tim had finished his first cup of coffe and set the mug down gently on the table and looked at them all as though he was seeing them for the first time.

'So when are you going to let him in on the plan?' he said, thanking Annie when she filled his mug up again.

'What plan?' Asked Dick, looking from one side of the table to the other.

Bruce sighed, he clearly hadn't been planning on bringing it up yet, whatever it was.

'We came up with an identity for you.' He said and Dick gave him a funny look. 'Well, you can't go back out there as Richard Grayson.'

Dick flinched almost violently at the name Grayson, a fact all of them picked up on. Bruce nodded as though his confirmed his theory.

'Besides, it seems you've got some bad attachments to your surname now. Surely you don't want to be flinching like that every time someone addresses you by your full name?'

Dick shrugged, he knew Bruce would ask him one day why he now hated the name Grayson, but for now, he didn't feel like sharing.

'So what name do you want to give me?'

'We figured, you look far too much like yourself for us to say you are another ward that I have taken in.' Said Bruce, 'But with the changes that have been made, it makes the distinction a little more blurred so we thought people might believe if you were related to one of us.'

It was a good thing that they all looked relatively similar, with black hair and sharp features. Dick had always stood out more because of his piercing blue eyes and tanned skin. Neither of these attributes was a problem anymore.

'Ok.' Said Dick, still not quite getting where this was going. 'So who am I meant to be related too?'

There was another awkward silence and then Jason spoke up.

'I left home when I turned 18.' He explained, 'After that, I very rarely came back during the day. I've been the one off the grid the most.'

Dick gave him a look that screamed...so?

'So with my reputation and the fact that I left when I was still pretty young. It's not the most unbelievable story that after I left I got a girl in trouble.'

There was another pause and Dick clicked.

'Oh my god. No.' he said. 'You want me to pretend I'm your son?'

'We don't have a lot of other choices Dickie.' Said Bruce.

Dick opened his mouth to retaliate but realised he didn't have an alternative. They were right, he couldn't go back out there as Richard Grayson. Even if he had survived all these years after being kidnapped, he should be 36, not 17. He sighed.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' He asked Jason. 'It would be mean you'd be saddled with me the rest of your life.'

'Pretty sure that was going to happen anyway.' Jason grinned.

'I mean it, Jay. Are you sure you want the world looking at you as a single teen parent?'

'If it means you get a chance at salvaging some kind of normal life, yes!' Said Jason looking intently at Dick.

Dick thought hard for a moment, but as hard as he tried he couldn't think of another way around this.

'Ok.' He said. 'But what about my eyes?'

'I have that covered!' Terry emerged from the doorway, accepting a mug of coffee from Annie before he sat down.

'A few years ago a craze went around called Splicing. A lot of people would go and get there DNA changed to alter their appearance.'

That seemed very strange, if he had had a choice Dick would never have willingly changed his DNA.

'It was all the rage with our age group before it was banned.'

'It was banned?' Asked Dick.

'Yeh, there was an incident with bat DNA and...' He trailed off with a shudder. 'It was not a good night. Point is, it easily explains your yellow eyes.'

They had really thought this out. The more he listened, the more it sounded like it would work. By the time they finished their breakfast, Dick was convinced.

'Brilliant. We'll wait till your completely settled, then we'll hold a press conference and get all the press shite out of the way.' Said Bruce, he grinned. 'Welcome back to the world, Richard Todd.'

 **A/N Ah you know the drill. Please review and let me know what you think. Karin xx**


	10. Chapter 10

The seeds were laid out to the public a week later and by the Thursday, Jason had joined Bruce at Wayne Corp for a press conference. Dick had stayed at home, as per their plan, watching the conference on the news. The press had tried to tear Jason apart.

They had accused him of having a double life (if only they knew how ironic that statement was), accused him of being reckless, impulsive. They drilled him for his reasons for leaving all those years ago and when Bruce had let "slip" about the splicing incident that had turned Dick's eyes to their golden colour, they had gone on to insinuate Jason wasn't able to control his son. But it had been the final question that had cut Dick to his core.

'Mr Todd, your son, what's his name?'

'Richard.' Said Jason calmly, but Dick could see the slight tension in his shoulders; he knew what was coming.

'Did you name your son after your brother who went missing twenty years ago?' The reporter looked at his notepad. 'Richard Grayson?'

Jason waited for a beat and then nodded, he didn't need to pretend to be affected by the statement. For twenty years he had had no idea what had happened to his brother, it had torn him apart. Even now Dick was back, he knew his brother couldn't have his old life back. But that was why he was here, listening to these clueless fools; so that Dick could have a normal life.

'Do you blame yourself?'

Back at the manor, the question made Dick sit up.

'Excuse me?' Said Jason.

'Do you blame yourself for your brother's disappearance?'

Jason gave them a puzzled look.

'No,' he said 'I was fifteen when Dick went missing. There was nothing I could have done to prevent it.'

'What about you, Mr Wayne?' All eyes were suddenly on Bruce. 'Is it true you sent Richard to a boarding school, the very boarding school he was abducted from?'

Bruce froze. Bruce never freezes. Dick watched the man on the screen, he knew the man must blame himself to some degree but he didn't realise it was tearing him up this much.

Jason brought the attention back to himself and manage to steer the conversation back to the reason they were there. With the attention off himself, Bruce managed to regain his composure.

Four hours later they returned to the manor and Jason slammed the front door closed.

'Bloody animals.' He muttered. 'I need a drink.'

'Got you covered.' Annie emerged from the kitchen with a glass of whiskey. 'Well, that was brutal.'

'You're telling me. How dare they bring Grayson's disappearance into it.'

'We knew that they would.' Said Bruce quietly.

'Yeh well, they shouldn't have.' Jason sighed, reaching out to slap a hand down on Bruce's shoulder. 'Where is Dick?'

Annie's jaw tightened. 'He watched the conference on the news,' she said. 'He was pretty annoyed by their comments as well. He's been up in his room since.'

Bruce went to walk forward but Jason stopped him.

'I'll get him. You get some of this in your system.' He handed the older man his untouched drink and headed up the stairs towards Dick's room.

He knocked on the door but there was no answer. Opening the door a crack he poked his head around but saw there was no one in the room but the window was open. Apparently, old habits die hard. He went over to the window and leaned out of it.

'Dick, I know you're up there.' He shouted. 'I am too old to be out there, can you come down please.' This wasn't true, he knew if he went out there he would be perfectly fine, he was in good shape, but this was a conversation he would rather have on the solid ground.

He went and sat on Dick's bed with his back against the headboard and his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. After a few moments, Dick landed silently back into the room. He didn't look happy.

'I hear you watched the conference.' Jason said. The boy didn't react, he just stood there looking at his feet. 'Do you wanna share what's bothering you?'

'You're ruining your life.' Dick muttered. That was not what Jason had expected to hear.

'How so?'

'I saw...' He paused, biting his lip for a second before continuing. 'I heard everything those reporters said to you. Those are the kind of accusations you're going to get now that you've stuck yourself to me.' Jason honestly thought Dick was going to cry, but that appeared to be something the Court had knocked out of him. Dick was always controlled these days, never letting himself completely let go.

'Yeh, they were pretty brutal. But you know what?'

Dick finally looked at him with his big yellow eyes.

'Once they have had their pound of flesh they will move on to the next story that comes their way. We just have to ride the tempest.'

Dick nodded. 'Do you want to throw any more Shakespeare references into that statement?'

They both grinned.

'Come here.'

Jason opened his arms and was glad when Dick came over and lay against him, his head resting on his chest. He wrapped them around the smaller being and held him. Dick had always been a hugger when they were younger, he loved physical contact. When they had found him, he wouldn't let anyone near him. As much as Jason had hated Dick's bear hugs when he was younger, he found himself feeling relief that the Court had not taken that trait away from his brother...well, he supposed now Dick was technically his son. Annie had been busy all that week creating birth certificates and a paper trail for them both.

Dick was 17, he had been born a year after Jason had left home and his mother had left him with Jason when Dick was a few months old. They had spent a lot of time travelling, but now Jason wanted Dick to have a proper education so he could go to college and settle down so they had come back to Gotham and moved back in with Bruce. That was the story.

Dick lay in Jason's arms listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat. Watching them at the conference today and brought it home to Dick that his life was not going to be the same, but it also brought to his attention even more that now Jason's wouldn't be either. It made him feel so guilty. He drew himself closer to Jason unconsciously as he thought this.

'I know this isn't what you expected your life to be like Dick.' Jason said quietly as he stared at the ceiling. 'But if doing this means you can live a normal life I am more than happy to do it, just do one thing for me in return?'

Dick lifted his head to look at him. 'Anything.'

'Make yourself a good life.' Said Jason, his expression was deadly serious, he had really thought about what he was about to say. 'Graduate from school, make friends, carve a path for yourself and live a good life despite everything that happened.'

Dick bit the inside of his cheek. Bruce had brushed on the topic of Dick going back to school for the next school year. Even though he had dropped out of school when he was 16, he had still passed all his exams in his own time. Bruce had suggested that they could forge school records for his new identity, but he wanted Dick to think about going back for his final year. Dick had said he would think about it, but here was Jason saying it was something he wanted him to do.

Dick didn't much like the thought of going back to school, he had hated it the first time around. His persona of the timid charity case had left him with a lot of bruises from bullies whom he couldn't fight back in fear of them discovering he was Robin. This time around he would be pretending to be a completely different person. But he found himself nodding and accepting Jason's terms.

'Thanks, Dickie.' He ruffled his hair. 'It will be good for you. Give you a chance to reinvent yourself. Speaking of which.' He pulled Dick's hair between his fingers, over the past few months since Dick had been awake his hair had grown a vast amount. It was now just below his ears. 'You, my friend, need a haircut.'

'It hides my ears.' Dick said, pulling his head away from Jason. He sat up and crossed his legs, feeling a little scrutinised under Jay's gaze.

'You can't notice them that much.' Said Jason, inspecting the sound filters in Dick's ears. 'And the long hair makes you look like you're out of a 1990's boy band.'

Dick couldn't help but laugh at the comment.

'Terry's friend from school is good with a pair of scissors, I'm sure Max can give you a do that will make you the envy of the school.'

Dick stared at him with a weird expression.

'What?' Said Jason.

'Nothing.' Said Dick, shrugging. 'It's just when I left you were a fifteen-year-old trouble maker with a lot of anger issues and now...'

'Now...?'

Dick shrugged again. 'You've got the dad thing down pretty well.'

Jason sat up quickly, grabbed Dick and pulled him back down. After the initial shock, Dick laughed.

'Just as well,' said Jason, 'Because you're stuck with me. Now, enough of this cutie bonding shit. I need to go and get that whiskey back off Bruce and you need to get some dinner in you, you skinny runt.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Terry's friend Max was not what Dick was expecting. For starters, Max was a girl. Her short crew cut hair had been dyed bright pink and contrasted dramatically against her dark skin. You couldn't help but draw your eyes to her and her bubbly personality kept you drawn in.

Max knew Terry was Batman, apparently, it was a fact she had worked out by herself and over the last year she had gained more of the Bat families trust. This being said, she was spun the same story as the rest of the public when it came to Dick.

She arrived with Terry after their school day much to Dick's surprise, he had thought Jason was joking about the haircut. He joined them in the kitchen and blinked in surprise at the newcomer.

'Hi, I'm Max.' She smiled a big grin. 'Heard you needed a trim, and yes boy do you ever!' She flicked his bangs out of his face. 'Terry wasn't kidding about the splicing thing either. What look were you going for?'

She had a very thick Gotham accent and clearly didn't hold back her opinion, even with strangers.

'No idea.' Said Dick, averting his eyes and pulling his hair around his ears. It was a strange feeling for him to feel self-conscious. It wasn't a feeling he had ever particularly felt before his time with the court.

'Hey,' she clicked her fingers in front of his face and drew his gaze back up. 'They only look weird if you don't follow through with the look. Have some confidence and people won't think anything's weird.' She pulled a chair out and pushed Dick towards it. Terry chuckled and leant against the kitchen counter watching them.

Dick hesitated, eyeing the chair up like it was going to attack him.

'Dude, come on, have a little faith.' Said Terry.

Dick glared at him and Terry's grin slip from his face. Dick's glare was just as intimidating, if not more so than Bruce's. Max didn't seem affected, she rested a hand on Dick's shoulder.

'Dick, trust me, I won't let you look stupid.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

'It's a bad idea.' Tim rested his head back against the armchair he was lounging in. They were all there; Tim, Bruce, Damian and Jason. Sat in the study discussing the second part of the plan; taking Dick out in public. 'He's not ready.'

'He'll be fine.' Said Jason from the desk chair, he tapped his foot against the leg of the desk. 'We can't keep him, prisoner, here forever.'

'But what happens if he becomes overwhelmed. We don't know what the court ingrained into him.'

'I hate to agree with Drake,' said Damian from his place on the floor, Ace at his side. 'You remember when I first came to live here after leaving the League of Shadows? My training was my fall back, in an unfamiliar environment I was dangerous because I was running on pure instinct.'

'Oh come on guys, the kid has already been overwhelmed and he's dealt with everything pretty well.' Said Jason, his foot tapping harder.

'Has he though Jay?' Said Tim, sitting up and leaning his elbow onto his thighs. 'Haven't you noticed? He doesn't react to anything. The only real reaction we managed to get out of him was the first day when he tried to fight us off him. Since then he's shut himself down and hadn't allowed himself to react.'

'What are you saying Tim?'

'I think he's depressed Bruce and I think if he doesn't start addressing that soon he's going to become a powder keg about to explode.'

Bruce nodded slowly, he remembered dealing with Tim's depression when he was a teenager. There had been no signs at first, Tim had seemed perfectly happy...too happy. It wasn't until later that Bruce realised, Tim had been acting in a way he thought everyone wanted him to act. All of his reactions and interactions were staged to please other people. After that came the lying, insomnia and the self-harm.

'Do you think he's ok?' Bruce asked Tim. His third son had started helping out at schools to help teens with mental health problems years ago. Tim knew the signs when even Bruce sometimes missed them.

'I think he is a 17-year-old trained assassin who has been thrown into a world that is almost completely foreign to him.' Tim leant back again and shrugged. 'I'm not saying one way or the other but I think we need to be careful.'

Jason brought his fist down on the table.

'You know what might make him feel a bit less depressed? Getting out of this house and actually making a life for himself instead of being constantly reminded that he can't have his old life back.'

'We can't ignore this Jason.'

'I'm not saying we should ignore it, Replacement. Just give the kid a chance.'

Tim went to start again but Jason stood up, holding a hand up to silence him.

'No Tim.' He turned to Bruce for support. 'Bruce, you gave Dick into my custody because you thought I was the best chance he had of a normal life. Please, trust me.' He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. 'I can't believe I'm saying this, but you trusted me to be Dick's father so please, let me be a parent.'

Bruce was surprised at Jason's passion. It was true, there had been an element of desperation and convenience to him passing guardianship of Dick over to his second son, but there were other reasons. Jason was level-headed, he didn't take any messing and he knew how to make the best of a crap situation. If anyone was going to bring Dick back from his ordeal it would be Jason.

Before any more could be said, the door to the study creaked open and Dick popped his head around the door.

'Max said I had to come show you.' He said flatly coming fully inside. His hair was short, shorter than he had ever had it before; one of the sides had even been shaved to a light shadow around his ear. The top was a little longer and it had been gelled.

'Now that is more like it.' Said Jason. 'You look like a member of this generation rather than Boy Zone.'

Dick glared, but it was half-hearted.

'What were you arguing about?' He asked.

'We weren't arguing.' Said Tim.

'Sounded like you were.' Dick tapped his ears. 'They filter out white noise but I still have impeccable hearing.'

'Drake was being a first-class worrier.' Said Damian bluntly, earning himself his own glare from Tim.

'I'm just concerned.' Said Tim. 'You've been through a lot Dick, I just want what's best for you.'

'I'm fine, Tim.' Dick gave him his most convincing smile and Tim seemed to relent.

'Brilliant.' Said Jason, clapping his hands together, he called Dick's name when the kid went to leave the room. 'We're going to check out the school Monday afternoon. Don't give me that face, you promised.'

Dick wiped the scowl off his face and nodded before closing the door.

Jason sat there looking smug for a moment, but Tim kept quiet. He didn't know if it was just him or if the others had seen it too, Dick's smile had been bright but his eyes were dead.

 **A/N This is a bit of a filler chapter to bridge any loose ends. It's now time to start spicing it up a little! Please review! Karin x**


	11. Chapter 11

Friday afternoons were Dick's favourite. It was the one time of the week where everyone was out of the house. Bruce went to the office, Tim, Jason and Damian were at their respective jobs and Annie was running her usual errands. This pattern had started to develop after his second week in the manor when its inhabitance became less wary of leaving him alone in the house.

Dick took this opportunity to use the gym, knowing no prying eyes would stumble upon him and witness him in action. Logically he knew it was only a matter of time before one of his family members saw the monster within, but he would hold it off as long as possible.

As soon as Annie left after lunch he stole away to the gym and began his usual stretching routine then worked his way through each piece of equipment, pushing his body until he could feel the electrum practically humming in his veins. After a couple of hours had passed, he stopped running on the treadmill. He had worked himself up and his adrenaline was sky high. Reaching for a set of throwing knives on the weapons table he threw them one after the other in quick succession. Each one hit the target with deadly accuracy.

It was the deadly force that stopped Dick in his tracks. This was one of the reasons he didn't want the others to see him train. He slipped into his old ways so easily. Batman had one main rule, his oath; never kill. Dick didn't want to see the look on Bruce's face when he saw how easy it would be for Dick to take the life of another.

He removed the knives from the targets, not wanting to leave them and draw attention to his practice. After taking a quick shower he headed back up to the house; Annie should be returning soon. As he opened the secret door he heard voices and scuffling from somewhere in the house. One of the voices was Annie's, the other he didn't recognise but it sounded Irish. Annie sounded angry but on the brink of fear.

In the kitchen, Annie was still staring in disbelief at the man stood before her. Darren had started out as her partner in the secret service, then later her fiancé. After she caught him taking and selling drugs she sold him out and tossed him to the curb. She hadn't seen him in nearly five years and yet here he was, in the kitchen of her new home, looking rough and particularly dangerous. Darren was a tall, muscular man and she was more than aware of how strong he was.

'What are you doing here Darren?'

'Is that really anyway to greet your old flame?' His thick Irish accent seemed to clash with the environment. He didn't belong here.

'What are you doing here?' She repeated a little louder.

'What did I always tell you, babe. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' He grinned and took a step toward her. 'I heard you were working for some big shot in the big US of A. Since it was you who made me lose my place on the service, it's time to pay the piper. 8 million should do it.'

'Get out.' Annie growled.

'Who's gonna make me? You?' He laughed. 'We both know I'm a lot stronger than you and all your little friends are out. I know, I've been watching.'

The thought of him watching them made her skin crawl.

'Now you're going to give me what I came here for. Or I'm going to cut that pretty face of yours.' He pulled a pocket knife from his jacket, the blade glinted in the late afternoon sunlight.

'Annie?' Dick's voice startled her. She had forgotten he was in. Darren looked alarmed, then a sly expression crept onto his features as he pieced together in his mind who the voice belonged too.

'Change of plan babe. You give me the money, or I'll cut the kid to pieces, just like I did that spy in old Russia.' He turned to the door, heading towards where Dick's voice had come from.

'Don't you dare touch him!' Annie sprang forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling tight on his windpipe. But he had always been able to overpower her. He threw her off and she screamed out, her head hit against the counter.

'You're going to wish you hadn't done that.' Darren was coming towards her again, deadly intent in his eyes. How had he even found her here?

'Hey!' Dick tackled him to the ground punching him in the face. 'Get the fuck out of this house.'

Darren moaned from the impact and Dick disentangled himself to go and check on Annie.

'You ok? You're bleeding.' Dick gently touched his fingers to her forehead where a small trickle of blood was making its way down her face.

'I'm ok.' She said.

'You little brat.' Darren had got himself back on his feet and was making his way over to them, his fist raised. But when he went to bring it back down Dick caught it and bent the wrist back, causing Darren to fall to his knees in pain.

'I could have forgiven the stalking and the breaking and entering. I could even have forgiven the threats.' Dick mused not releasing the fist in his grasp. 'But what I can't forgive is you hurting Annie.'

'You little shit, I'm gonna..'

Dick squeezed the fist and the bones began to crack under the pressure causing the man to squeal in pain.

Dick could feel the electrum in his veins, he was losing control but he didn't care. This moron had made Annie bleed. Darren was scrambling, trying to get away.

'Dick, let him go.'

Dick wasn't listening to her, he was listening to the beating of his heart in his ears. His yellow eyes narrowed. _Beware the court of owls, that watches all the time._ His expression became emotionless, like stone. _Ruling over Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime._ It was men like this who ended up on the hit lists, men who had power and used it against the innocent. _They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed._ The world would be a better place without someone like this. Surely, no one would miss him. It would be so easy, Dick realised. All he had to do was move his hand to the man's neck and squeeze. _Speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head._

'Richard!' Annie's hand was on his arm, her eyes were wide. 'Please, let him go. He's not worth it.'

Somewhere along the line, Darren's hand had broken under Dick's grasp. In a breath, he released him and let the man crash to the floor gasping.

Dick was breathing heavily himself. What had was he thinking?

'Oh Christ, Dick.' Annie whispered.

'I know.' He said just as quietly. 'I'm sorry.'

She wasn't listening, her eyes were on his leg. He followed her gaze and saw a knife sticking out of his thigh; it was buried to the hilt. As soon as he saw the blade the pain hit him. Not the pain from the wound, but the pain of the electrum trying to push the blade from its host. Healing was one thing, removing a foreign object was another, and it was a skill Dick had not had the chance to perfect. The kitchen began to swim around him.

' _Concentrate.'_

 _Dick was on his knees' knife embedded in his side. His eyes were wide with pain._

' _The pain will stop once you remove the weapon.' William said calmly._

 _Dick tried to touch the knife but the pain spiked and he released it. He couldn't do it. Every ounce of Batman's training was telling him not to remove the knife; it was a survival instinct. William had never left his blade within his body before, the injuries inflicted were always cuts or quick stab wounds where he kept hold of the blade._

 _Dick had been stabbed before, years before the court. But this hurt so much worse. The electrum was trying to push the blade from his body, trying desperately to heal the wound but the burning that came with it was ten times as painful as the usual healing process had been. Logically Dick knew if he pulled the knife from his body the healing process would be able to complete itself. But he couldn't get himself past the pain, he couldn't pull the blade from his body._

 _He fell to his side with William standing over him._

' _You're going into shock.' William explained. 'Take back control, push past the pain.' There was a tinge of annoyance in his voice._

 _Dick heard the words but he could feel himself blacking out. The pain was all he could think about. He felt like he was dying._

' _You're not dying.' Said William, he had an odd way of seemingly reading Dick's mind. 'You will wake up from this and unless you pull that blade from your side we are going to do this again and again.'_

 _Dick looked up at him, but his Grand Master was being consumed by the darkness._

' _Push past the pain, Gray Son. Or there will be so much more to come.'_

'Dick! Wake up!'

He cracked his eyes open and saw the ceiling, then Annie's face blocked his view. He was lying on the floor he realised.

'What happened?' He asked.

'You blacked out.'

Dick groaned at the pain in his leg and realised the knife was still embedded in his flesh. But he also realised, Darren was gone.

'Where's the Irish git?'

'He ran off, I called Gordon. She'll catch the bastard.'

She? Thought Dick. But he chose to focus on that later, right now he needed to stop the pain.

'Annie, I need you to pull the knife out of my leg.' He said, he knew it was a cowards way out but he couldn't bring himself to remove it.

'No, we need to wait till the others get back. They're on their way.'

Dick shook his head.

'Annie, it hurts...' He started.

'I know, but pulling it out will make it worse.' She interrupted, changing the padding around his leg; it soaked up the blood again almost instantly. 'You can't afford to bleed out any more.' She kept muttering to herself as she worked, trying to keep his leg still and attempting to stop the bleeding.

'Anastasia.' Dick said in a low voice that didn't sound like him at all. It was at that moment Annie was reminded he was not a normal 17-year-old kid. 'I need you to pull the knife out so I can heal it.'

He looked at her intently with his golden eyes, praying he looked confident at what he was asking her to do when the reality was he was desperate for the burning pain to stop.

Annie nodded slowly and looked down towards the weapon. There was blood everywhere, it was pooling under her knees as she worked. Why was it bleeding so much? She wrapped her fingers around the blade and placed her other hand flat on Dick's knee to keep it still. She heard Dick take a deep breath and as he began to release it she pulled the blade from his thigh.

The next few moments were a blur. The blood increased and Dick yelled out in pain. The kitchen door was thrown open and Damian ran in still in a suit. He threw himself down on the bloody floor and took hold of Dick's shaking form. Annie remembered babbling something about Dick telling her to remove the knife, it suddenly occurred to her she had made a mistake and Dick was now bleeding out on the kitchen floor.

But as Dick groaned and held onto Damian, the torn flesh on his leg slowly began to weld itself back together until even the lump of scar tissue disappeared. Dick sighed in relief, his head slumped into Damian's lap.

'What the hell happened?' Asked Damian, now Dick was no longer in agony on the floor he took a moment to take in the bloody mess. He had received Annie's SOS message but he wasn't expecting this. He listened as Annie explained what had happened. She was stuttering and she was competing with Dick for the palest complexion. Dami had never seen her like this, seeing her ex had really shaken her.

'I don't know how he found me. I thought I'd left that life behind.'

'We'll get to the bottom of it. I'm just glad you're both alright.'

'Define alright.' said Dick, sitting up. His nose curled as he looked around at all the blood. 'It looks like a scene from Saw in here.'

'Don't worry about it. If there's one thing Pennyworth and I know how to do, it's clean up.' Damian had said it as a joke but the thought disturbed the Talon. 'Go and have a shower.'

Dick pushed himself to his feet, his legs still shaking slightly from the blood loss. His brother looked concerned but he brushed him off, he would be fine in an hour. Somehow he made it up the staircase without treading too much blood through the house. Once in his room, Dick stripped himself of his bloody shorts and t-shirt and stood under the water for the second time that day. He thought about what had just happened. He had been weak. He had lost control, let Darren get a knife lodged in his leg and then he had passed out and allowed the man to get away. Had he been in the court, his weakness would have been punished.

He slid down the wall of the shower and sat there, letting the water beat against the back of his head. William had once told him that he couldn't be both a Talon and a hero, in order to be strong and remain in control of his new abilities he would have to forgo his hero mindset and morals, he couldn't be both. Dick hugged his knees closer to him, his jaw tightening. William had never said what would happen should Dick fail to be either.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Where's Ace?' Damian asked as he and Annie began cleaning the blood.

'I took him to the groomers this afternoon.'

'So your friend even knew when the dog would be gone.'

Annie nodded, still very pale. 'If Dick hadn't been here...' She trailed off. It didn't bear thinking about.

Damian took his jacket off and rolled up his sleeves, more for comfort than practicality; his suit was already stained.

'Is this all Dick's?'

Annie nodded. 'Far as I could see he didn't make Darren bleed.' She paused. 'He did break his wrist and hand though.'

'Good. The least the bastard deserves.' Said Damian, not looking up as he mopped at the blood.

'He did it with one hand.' Annie said. In the moment she hadn't questioned it. She had been more afraid for Dick when she saw Darren stab him in the leg in his attempt to get away. But she looked back in terrified awe at how strong Dick was. She had never looked at her newest charge as anything but a timid lost boy who needed a home. Today was the first time she had seen a glimpse of the Talon.

Damian sighed. Dick hid it very well but he knew how powerful his brother must be. Unlike Annie, Damian had seen the other Talon's in action. They were unstoppable killing machines, their only goal to complete their mission. By some miracle, Dick had not only been spared from the virus, but he appeared to have maintained some degree of his humanity but physically he was still just like them. It was his humanity that separated him from what the others were; monsters.

'He was protecting you.' He said finally.

'I know. I'm not questioning his intentions.'

They both left the real question lingering in the air, unspoken. Just how strong was Dick?

'What the hell happened in here?'

'Commissioner Gordon, always a pleasure.' Said Damien, turning on his knee to look at the woman in the door way. Babs cast her eyes from the blood on her friends clothing to the red stain on the floor.

'Whose blood is that?'

'Long story.' said Damian.

'Are they alright?'

'Longer story.'

She frowned at him before turning to Annie. 'My boys are still out looking but we haven't found him so far. You said on the phone he was injured...how injured are we talking?'

'He had a broken arm. This isn't his.' Said Annie.

Babs gave them a look which demanded an explanation. Surprisingly it was Dami who caved.

'Richard broke his arm when the Irish tosser threatened her with a knife. He got a lucky shot in. The bloods Richards.'

'Richard? You mean Jason's son?'

She had seen the news then. Judging by her expression she wasn't happy with finding out that way.

'Hey, when you got your new job you said you wanted out of the loop. You can't be out of the loop and still get all the intel.' Said Damian. He knew the truth was about to come out, he was only fighting the inevitable.

'Jason having a secret son isn't Batman business...is it?'

'Long story.'

'Well, you better start explaining then, because I can't ignore the fact I've just walked in on you cleaning what looks like a murder scene.'

Damian opened his mouth to retaliate but the front door slammed and Jason's voice came through shouting for Annie. When he joined them in the kitchen, he first looked to Barbra, who had not been seen in the house in nearly a year then to the bloody mess on the floor.

'Oh God, what happened? Where's Dick?' Jason said, his mind flying to all manner of possibilities.

'He's up stairs.' Said Annie.

'Is he ok? Are you ok? Gordon, what are you doing here?' Jason's questions were answered by Damian throwing down his bloody cloth.

'If we're going to do 20 bloody questions, can we at least do it when none of us are covered in Dick's blood.'

'That's Dick's blood?' Jason exited the kitchen and ran up the stairs, taking two at a time.

Babs watched him go then turned back to them.

'Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dick lay on his bed with his face in his pillow. His hair was wet and despite the fresh hoodie and slacks he had pulled on, the cool air made him shiver. He heard Jason coming before the older man launched the door open. Dick got off the bed and Jason was by his side in a couple of strides, his hands on his face and moving down his shoulders and arms in erratic movements.

'Jason I'm fine.'

'Fine my ass, I saw how much blood was down there!'

Dick rolled his eyes.

'I'm fine I swear. It was only a small knife to the leg. It bled a lot because my body was trying to push it out of me.' Dick explained calmly. He had never seen Jay like this, erratic and so obviously concerned. It appeared he was taking this father roll very seriously. 'Jason!'

Jason stopped touching him and settled for holding him at arms length.

'I'm sorry. I just...I can't loose you. Not again.' He took a deep breath and released the younger. 'Babs is down stairs, once Bruce and the others get back we're going to have to fill her in.' He explained. 'Put your filters back in your ears, I expect there's going to be a fair bit of yelling.'

 **A/N A bit more action in this chapter, I am going somewhere with this plot I promise you. Please review! Karin xx**


	12. Chapter 12

By the time Bruce and the others made their way back to the manor, the kitchen was clear of blood and Babs was waiting patiently with a cup of tea in the living room. Dick had yet to come downstairs, he didn't want to freak his old friend out before Bruce had a chance to explain and prepare her. Instead, he sat at the top of the staircase, listening to the conversation coming from below.

So far, it wasn't going well.

While she was waiting for the rest of the Bats, Babs had received a call that they had found Darren and had taken him straight to the hospital in custody; his arm was a mess. Babs had started questioning them again, there was no way a teenager could have done that much damage.

When Bruce arrived with Terry and Ace, he looked up at the stairs and saw Dick's yellow eyes in the dim light. He gave him a sympathetic look and a nod to tell him it was going to be alright.

'Alright, what are you hiding from me?' Gordon demanded once Bruce entered the room.

'I think you should sit down Barbara.'

'I've been sat down, waiting for someone to tell me what's going on!' She turned to Jason who entered after Bruce. 'Why didn't you tell me you had a kid? I only left five years ago, you've been keeping him a secret a lot longer than that.'

'For God sake Gordon, sit down and just listen.' Jason snapped. Shocked, the redhead did as he asked, seating herself back down on the sofa. Jason came and sat the other side.

'There is no easy way to say this.' He began. 'Richard isn't my son.'

Babs narrowed her eyes but remained silent.

'It was just the easiest way to explain the situation to the outside world.'

'Then who is he?'

There was a pause before Bruce spoke up.

'It's Dick, Barbra.' He said softly. 'We found him.'

Babs froze, her back upright. 'What did you say?'

'We found, Dick Grayson.'

'He's alive?' Babs whispered, then she looked confused. 'But you told the press he was 17, Dick would be in his late thirties.'

'We always feared it would be a possibility.' Bruce continued. 'The Court of Owls made him into a Talon. He was with them for a year, then they placed him into hibernation.'

Babs didn't speak, she looked over to each of them in turn, gauging their reaction. Was this a joke?

'Terry found the hibernation chamber a few months ago. Dick was inside and he was alive.' Tim said. 'We've slowly been getting him used to the world again.'

'So...' Babs began but stopped to collect her thoughts again. 'So, he hasn't aged in all that time? He's still a teenager?'

They nodded.

'And he's a Talon?'

Nod.

'And it was Dick that broke that guy's arm? And the blood?'

'Darren stabbed Dick.' Said Jason. 'Dick has an accelerated healing factor. The wound has now healed, I checked, but his body pushed a lot of blood from the wound in an attempt to dislodge the knife.'

Babs nodded slowly. All seemed to be going very well until she stood up with her hands clutched in her hair.

'Do you have any idea how insane this sounds!?' She started walking towards the door. 'Richard Grayson has been missing for twenty years. He has probably been dead for most of that. Whoever this kid is, it's not Dick and I refuse to let you tarnish the memory of my best...' She opened the door and for the first time got a glimpse of the boy on the staircase.

Dick had moved down several of the stairs in order to hear better and so he could pet Ace while he waited. He wasn't really expecting Babs to storm out of the room and his yellow eyes widened upon seeing her. She looked much the same, just older and more tired. She looked at him with a strange expression and seemed to be frozen in time as much as he was.

'Hi Babs.' He said. His voice seemed to break the spell. She walked over to him timidly. He stood slowly, so as not to frighten her.

'Dick?'

'Yeh, it's me...sort of.'

She took all of him in, from his short cut hair and yellow eyes to his thin, delicate frame and pale skin. Everything about him was different, but it was also definitely Dick. She reached a hand forward and touched the side of his face, he was cold to the touch. She paid it no mind and flattened her palm against the side of his face; he was real. In a quick movement, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him to her chest. It took a couple of moment, then Dick hugged her back.

'Boy Wonder.' She whispered. They stayed like that for a few moments, when Babs pulled away there were tears in her eyes. She turned to the others, still keeping a hand on Dicks' arm.

'I'll sort everything out with Darren, by what Annie says it should be easy enough to pull some drugs from his system and bring an element of doubt to his story. He won't bother you again and he won't bring any suspicion onto Dick.' She squeezed his arm.

'Thanks, Gordon.' Said Jason, he then winced as she punched him in the shoulder.

'And don't you ever lie to me again.' She took one more look at Dick and headed for the front door.

Jason sighed a deep sigh. 'That is enough drama for one weekend, at this rate we won't make it to the school Monday.'

'I don't know what you're complaining about Todd.' Said Damian, 'You didn't have to clean blood off the kitchen floor.'

'Neither of you had to get stabbed.' Dick said. His sarcasm took them all by surprise. Bruce was the first to laugh.

'He's got you both beat.' He said with a chuckle, placing a hand on Dick's shoulder. "I'm glad you're alright, thank you for protecting Annie.'

Dick's lips twitched into a smile. He had to admit, it felt good to help someone again but there was still the elephant in the room that he didn't want to bring up and hoped Annie wouldn't either. He had almost lost control.

But Annie didn't say anything, she thanked him and kissed his cheek. She was still pale and shaken from the whole experience.

Dick went to bed that night feeling conflicted. The part of him that was a Talon was angered by the whole experience and the weakness he had shown by letting the man get away. The part of him that was still Dick Grayson was happy that he had been able to save Annie and despite a slip of control, he hadn't mortally wounded the man. He lay there, staring at the ceiling trying to sort through his emotions. But one thing was for sure; the burning in his muscles that had been building relentlessly over the past few weeks had finally subsided. For now.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Terry rested his head against the locker, closing his eyes momentarily while Dana collected her books. She was rattling on about something her girlfriends had been discussing over the weekend. Terry loved her, but he had to tune out these conversations for his own sanity. It wasn't her fault. Being Batman had given him a new perspective on what was important, Dana didn't have that perspective; he didn't want her to ever have too.

Max appearing at his side was a welcome relief from high school gossip.

'They're here.' Max said, looking back down the hall.

Terry straightened up. Sure enough, there was Jason and Dick with the vice principal. Jason was doing a good job at the concerned parent role; Terry had to wonder how much of it was actually for show. He was chatting to the vice and asking questions, fully engrossed in the conversation. Dick was quiet by their side, he looked exhausted.

Terry had a vague idea of what their plan had been today. Jason was taking Dick out into the city before coming to the school. After months of slowly integrating Dick back into the family and the League, the young Talon had grown inpatient so they had changed their tactic to 'throw him in the deep end.' Dick looked like he was regretting this plan. He didn't even notice Terry when they walked past and Terry didn't call out to him.

'Who's that?' Asked Dana.

'That's Jason Todd's kid.' Said Max.

'Oh, the secret one that they mentioned on the news?' Said Dana, high school drama forgotten. 'They say he's got a lot of issues.'

'He's fine.' Said Terry, almost defensively. 'The poor guys had a lot to deal with, but he's cool. Right, Max?'

'Yeh, I only met him for a few hours but he's not what I was expecting at all. He's actually kind of sweet.'

Dana tilted her head to the side. 'Does he really have yellow eyes?'

'Yeh, that's all true.' Terry sighed. Since the splicing incident a year ago, people were wary about people who had undergone the procedure. Unfortunately, it was the only way to explain Dick's Talon features. 'As I said, the guy's been through a lot.'

'Have you spent much time with him while you're at work?' Dana asked him. Max had to restrain her grin. She found it amusing how Terry's girlfriend thought he hung around at Wayne manor every day because he was dedicated to his job, especially since the truth was that Terry was basically a part of the family now. Not to mention Batman.

'I've spent quite a lot of time with him actually. I think he likes the company, it must be hard being the only kid in that house.'

'So you're friends?' Dana was leading up to something, but he couldn't work out what so he simply nodded. Yes, he and Dick were friends, he liked to think so anyway.

'Then let's go and say hi.' Dana grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hall in the direction the two bats had been taken. As with all new students, the principal liked to speak privately with the parent and the child is told to wait on the bench outside the office. This was where they found Dick and he did not look happy. He looked tired, irritable and ever so slightly overwhelmed.

'Hi, Dick.'

He looked up and his face brightened.

'Hi Terry, Hi Max.'

'How's it going?' Terry sat down beside him, he could practically feel the other boy deflate.

'I'm starting to think this whole thing is a bad idea.' Dick admitted.

'Na, come on. It will be totally fine. Once you're here you'll be fitting in in no time.'

Dick did not look convinced. Meanwhile, Dana was observing the boy before her. He was not what she was expecting the grandson of a billionaire to look like. He wore ripped jeans, a black shirt and what looked like an old leather jacket. His hair was cut short, he was pale and his yellow eyes were impossible to miss. He had strange devices in his ears; hearing aids? What she also noticed was the expression in his eyes. This boy had seen hardships in his life. She could tell. He looked at everything as though he was sizing up whether it was a threat.

He looked up at her and gave a small smile.

'Hi.' He extended a hand to her. 'I'm Richard Todd.' He had been practising saying the name and he was very believable now, but the name still sounded strange to Dick's ears. He was Grayson no more. He was The Gray Son no more.

'Dana. I'm Terry's girlfriend.' She said, taking his hand and shaking it. His hands were cold and she had to resist the urge to pull back her hand. She didn't want to offend him when he seemed so nice.

'I've heard a lot about you.' Said Dick.

'All good I hope.' She cast a glance to Terry who just laughed. The bell rang signalling the students should head to their next classes. 'See you later Terry. Nice to meet you, Richard.'

'Please, call me Dick.'

Once Max and Dana were out of earshot, Terry turned back to Dick.

'You alright? You look tired.' Dick's body posture had sunk the moment the girl's backs were turned. His demeanour was not cold but it was no longer approachable.

'This city has become very loud.' Dick confessed it had given him a headache; a ailment electrum did not heal. He was very glad Annie had given him the sound filters, otherwise, he doubted he would ever get used to his new environment. Maybe the virus had been natures way of sparing the Talons. With their heightened senses and hibernation habits, they would have struggled to adapt and function in this new, ever-changing world. Dick was still unconvinced he would ever get used to it.

The door opened and Jason stepped out.

'McGinnis.' He said.

'Hi, Jay. Everything sorted?'

'More or less. You ready to go Dick?'

Dick nodded, he was more than ready to get back to the quiet of the bat cave for a while. As he stood up the pain of his headache spiked, sending the edges of his vision dark for a few seconds. He stumbled back to catch himself.

'Wo! Dick!' Terry and Jason both reached out to steady him. 'Are you ok?'

His vision returned to normal and he stood up straight. 'I'm fine. Can we go home now?'

Jason was looking at him with wide eyes. He placed his palm flat against Dick's forehead. Dick shook him off, looking embarrassed. Jason held him at arms length, just as he had done when he had been stabbed.

'Ja...Dad, I'm fine.' Dick said. 'I have a headache, you don't have to be so weird.'

Jason frowned, pulling Dick a little closer and lowered his voice.

'You know perfectly well why I'm concerned.'

'It's a headache.' Dick said slowly. 'The first signs of the sickness were a high fever and kidney damage. Pretty sure I'm fine.' He tried to smile to convince the other, but Jason did not look pleased.

'We're still going to run a test when we get home.'

Dick rolled his eyes and groaned. Terry had to bite his lip to hold back a grin, in the recent days Dick really had started to act more like a typical teenager. It was nice to see, especially when he thought back to the days when Dick had first awoken, but he could see it grated on Jason's nerves from time to time.

'Do not fight me on this.' He threatened though they both knew Dick would be a lot stronger than the former Red Hood. 'Now, come on.'

They said goodbye to Terry and Dick followed the older man back to the car. As they approached the vehicle the younger grinned.

'If I let you stick me with needles again, can I go and spend some time with Ben and Wally?'

Jason frowned at him; he was pretty sure Benjamin West was the reason Dick suddenly had regained some of the more annoying teenage habits, rolling his eyes, answering back etc. But Dick and Wally's son seemed to get on almost as well as Dick originally had with Wally. Jason didn't want to keep Dick from that friendship.

'Only if you don't fuss.' He warned, and pointed to the car. 'Get in.'

They drove away from the school, unaware of the eyes watching them from above. Across the street, on the rooftops, grey eyes watched them through the holes of a white owl mask. The figure raised a hand to his ear.

'Your theory was right, Grand Master. I've found him.'

 **A/N Now let the fun begin! Please review. Karin xx**


	13. Chapter 13

Jason rubbed his arm where a set of bruises were beginning to appear. True to his word, Dick hadn't said a word when they had arrived home and had allowed Bruce to take the necessary steps to test once again for the virus. While the blood was being drawn he had closed his eyes and held his breath, his free hand clinging onto Jason's arm tightly. After what had happened with Darren, Jay knew Dick had been holding back his strength but his grip had still been tight.

'It's negative.' Said Bruce, handing Jason the sheet of paper and sitting down beside him. 'I know this is rich coming from me, but don't you think you're being a bit paranoid Jason?'

'We don't know what caused the virus, Dick could contract it at any time.' Jason explained, gripping the paper in his hands. He had tried to hide his fear from Dick, but for a moment in the school, it had overwhelmed him, the fear that he might lose him again.

'Where is he?' Said Bruce gently. He was surprised at his son. He had taken to being a guardian in much the same way he had himselOverprotectiveive, paranoid, constantly worrying about his young charge. He found it slightly ironic and even more messed up that they had both started out as parents to the same young boy. He shook away the thoughts.

'He's asleep. I think the city overwhelmed him a bit.'

'How did the school visit go? Do you think he will be alright?'

'I think with Terry there he will be fine.' Jason looked down at the marks on his arm again. Bruce followed his gaze, the bruises were beginning to look like small finger prints. 'He needs something normal in his life.' Jason continued. 'There is so much he isn't telling us. Maybe if he starts to feel normal again he will open up to us a little more.'

Jason wasn't really talking to anyone in particular, at this point he was more musing to himself.

As if to distract him from these thoughts, Damian appeared on the stair case that descended to the depths of the cave.

'Gordon rang.' He said, casually walking over. 'Apparently, Darren's arm will heal fine and they've banged him up for breaking and entering, blackmail and possession with intent to supply.'

Bruce smirked, he had to hand it to Babs, if she knew someone was guilty she would find everything they had to hide. Her father would have been proud.

'Is she alright?' He asked his youngest. 'She left here in a bit of a hurry after she saw Dick.'

'You know what Gordon's like, she doesn't like to show emotion and seeing Dick again must have been a shock for her. She'll be back once she's had a chance to process.'

The others stared at Damian.

'What?'

'Gordon doesn't like to show her emotions? I'm not sure you're the best person to judge someone for that Demon Child.' Jason chuckled.

'I wasn't judging, I was making an observation. Shut your face, Todd.'Damian said hurriedly. A small blush creeping onto his cheeks. 'I'm going to get changed.'

As he turned to return back upstairs, Jason called after him to ask if he would check on Dick on his way.

'For goodness sake, Todd. He is not five! You are taking this guardianship way too seriously!'

Before Jason could shout back a response, Damian strode up the stair case and headed towards his bedroom. He could understand Jason's worry, he really could. After having him torn away from them so suddenly the first time, they all wanted to protect the original Robin. But it would do no good to baby him. Being over protective was what drove him away from the manor in the first place. Maybe if Batman hadn't been so protective, Robin would never have left and joined the Titans, then maybe...

Damian stopped that thought process and came to a stop outside Dick's door. He knew it was no one's fault, the only people who were to blame for Richard's disappearance were the people who had taken him. But still...

When Dami had first come to stay at the manor he had been angry, confused and although he would never admit it aloud, a little scared. Dick had shown him kindness and patience despite the hostility Damian had shown him. He had wrapped him in hugs that at first had annoyed him, but they became a safe place. Grayson had been his safe place.

Damian could see what Todd was doing. He was trying to be for Dick what Bruce had been for them. It made sense, if Bruce had taken Dick in as 'another ward' the media would have made their lives hell and Dick would have had to strip himself of his whole identity. At least being Todd's son he could keep his name and no one on the outside would question his place with the family.

He placed his hand on the handle of the door. If Todd had become what Bruce had originally been for Richard, then maybe he should be what Grayson had originally been for him. A safe place.

He cracked the door open and peered into the room. Richard was curled on his side on the bed. His breathing was deep and even, his eyes closed. But his brow was creased and it was evident that his dreams were haunting him.

Damian crossed the room and gently sat down on the edge of the bed. Instantly, Dick's eyes flew open and his body tensed.

'It's just me.' Said Dami, watching as his brothers muscles slowly relaxed. He looked down at the form still curled up on the bed and it looked back up at him with those big yellow eyes. 'Want to talk about the dream?'

Dick shook his head.

'Are you alright?'

There was a moments hesitation before Dick nodded. Damian sighed.

'I can't imagine what it must have been like being held prisoner by the Court. But I do understand what it's like being used as a weapon. If you ever want to talk, you know where I am.'

Dick seemed to flinch at the word prisoner. An expression flashed across his face that took Dami a while to place, he almost looked guilty.

'Todd says your scan is clear.'

'I told him it would be.' Said Dick, finally sitting up and crossing his legs. 'I saw what that virus did to the Talon's, feeling a little faint was not on the scale of what they suffered from, even in the beginning.' Dicks expression was serious as he remembered the panic that had flooded through the base when the sickness had first started to appear. He wasn't grateful to Cobb for much, but the more he learnt about the fate of the Talon's the more grateful he was that the man had placed him into hibernation. Even if it was for nearly two decades.

Dick's phone buzzed on the bedside table and he twisted his arm round to grab it.

'Wally's back from work, I'm going to head over there.' He said.

'How are you getting there?'

'Zeta tubes.' Said Dick, getting ready to leave.

'You know Todd is down there still having a melt down.' Damian grinned at him when Dick pulled a face. Just as Damian had predicted, Todds over protectiveness was already getting to Dick. Fishing in his pocket he pulled out a set of keys. 'Take my bike.' He threw the keys and the younger caught them with little effort.

'Really?' He had been on the bikes before, all of his brothers had been out with him, getting him used to the roads again but he hadn't yet been allowed out on his own.

'It will save you setting Todd off again. Just make sure you take the back roads, they are less busy this time of day.'

Dick gave him a wide grin, before pulling his trainers onto his feet and grabbing his jacket.

'Thanks Dami.' He left the room and hurried down the stair case, wanting to get to the garage before Jason came back up to the manor.

'And make sure you wear a helmet,' Damian called after him. 'Just because you have advanced healing doesn't mean you should risk having to use it!'

Slipping into the garage, Dick headed straight for Damian's bike, grabbing his helmet as he went. The bikes these days were a lot more advanced than the ones he used to ride, but over the last few weeks, he had gotten the hang of riding them pretty quickly. He climbed onto the seat and started the engine, with one last check that he had everything he opened the garage door and head off towards the road and towards Central City which was a 45 minute drive once you were on the Gotham boarder.

Grey eyes watched him as he left and they raised themselves from their seated position in the trees.

'He's on the move.'

' _Are the others with him?'_

'No, he's alone. Looks like he is heading out of the city. Should I engage?'

' _No. Follow him, if we play our cards right he might come to us.'_

The Owl straightened and send out a zip line, landing beside his own transport, starting the engine he followed the former Boy Wonder towards Gotham. He made sure he stay a safe distance away, to avoid the Talon realising he was being followed. They headed down back roads, heading out of one city and onto the next. When the bike in front stopped, the Owl carried on, turning at the next corner and parking his own bike. Going down an alley way he made his way back up onto the rooftops and returned to his observations.

The boy was meeting someone, two people to be exact. One was younger than the other but they both had shocking red hair; father and son perhaps. Richard met them with familiarity, they were his friends.

The Owl followed them through the city, watching how the Talon interacted with the public. He appeared shy and timid, unsure of himself. Was this really the Gray Son that he had read so much about from the old texts of the Court? This boy looked pathetic and weak.

He followed the group for several hours, staying to the shadows and far enough away that the boy would not notice his presence. Finally, the elder one said his good byes and left the younger two in a park. Taking a risk the owl drew closer to them, watching their interactions. The Talon appeared to care a great deal for the younger redhead. He listened intently as the boy spoke quickly, his hands flying in animation. He smiled and laughed along with the teenager and when another group of youths accidentally sent a ball in their direction, the Talon intercepted before it could hit the younger. He was protective of him.

He watched patiently as the boys enjoyed the remainder of the late afternoon sun before they made their way back to the Talon's bike, said their good byes and rode away.

The Owl grinned behind his mask. The Grand Master was correct. The Gray Son would come to them and he knew just how to make that happen.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

As soon as Dick made his was back into the manor he was crushed by Jason's arms.

'Where the hell have you been, why didn't you answer your phone?' He said, holding Dick at arms length.

'I couldn't answer it I was driving.' Said Dick. 'What's the big deal, you all knew where I was?'

It was then that he realised they were all there. Bruce, Tim, Dami even Annie. They were all pale with shocked looks on their faces.

'What's going on?'

'Wally just called.' Said Bruce. 'Ben's been kidnapped.'

 **A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long and is a little short. I've been dealing with some stuff and haven't been able to write. Hope you enjoy this chapter, more drama to come. Please review. Karin x**


	14. Chapter 14

Dick sat very still on a stool in the main room of the mountain. Everything felt like it was rushing past him, everyone moving quickly and shouting. Ben was missing. Someone had taken him.

'How does someone even kidnap a speedster?' Asked Jason, he seemed more distressed than the other bats. He remembered all too clear when this exact scene had played out 20 years ago after the Titans had reported that Robin had been taken from the tower. The memory was making him feel sick as he helped search security footage of the city, trying to discover who had taken his friend's son.

'He's only half a speedster.' Said Wally, paler than usual. 'He can use speed, but he hasn't learnt how to switch it on and off yet. If someone caught him from behind, he wouldn't have the time to use his speed.' The redhead ran a hand over his face. They had seen the footage of Ben being grabbed, but they couldn't work out who had done it or when they had started stalking the boy. 'He was taken almost immediately after Dick left, which means they were targeting Ben or they would have taken Dick too.'

Even as he said this he realised that would have been a better scenario. Dick would have been able to defend himself, it would have given Ben enough time to use his speed. The fact that they had waited till Dick left meant they had wanted Ben specifically.

'Oh God, this is all my fault. They must have targeted him because of the Flash.' Wally buried his head in his hands. Artemis squeezed his shoulder. 'We don't know anything yet. Keep your cool Baywatch.' The nickname held none of the sting it once had, it was now a term of endearment and it seemed to relax Wally, if only slightly.

Tim's fingers were speeding across the keyboard, his frown deepening as he went back through the footage, watching Dick and Ben enjoy their time in the city. On the one hand, he was pleased to see Dick look so normal, but he was also staring intently, looking for the hidden kidnapper he knew must be on the footage somewhere.

Terry came and sat beside Dick, their shoulders touching. The young Talon didn't react.

'It's not your fault you know.' Whispered Terry.

'I should have sensed someone following us.' Said Dick, just as quietly. 'What is the point of having heightened senses if I can't use them to protect the people I love.'

'Dick, you're heightened senses are on overdrive in the city. You've only been in this world nine months. Give yourself a break.'

'Something's come through.' Tim turned to look at the others and they gathered around. It was an audio message. He clicked play but nothing seemed to be playing.

'What the hell is this?' Said Wally, getting frustrated. But Dick shushed him.

All eyes were on Dick as he listened.

' _Hello Richard, yes we know who you are. Or more importantly, we know what you are. We are the Parliament of Owls, the next generation from the Court of Owls. We have stripped the order of the old ways and now the only remnant of the old ones is you. The Gray Son, the slave of the Court. Come to us, give yourself up to the new order. Your sacrifice will ensure the freedom of the boy. Our location will come to you soon.'_ The next thing Dick knew a loud, piercing sound filled the room. Some of the metas flinched but Dick fell to his knees as his eardrums burst. Finally, the sound cut off and Bruce and Jason were at Dick's side.

They helped him to his feet as the blood dripped down from his ears. Dick could hear muffled sounds and knew they were trying to speak to him, but he raised a hand to tell them to wait a moment.

The burning filled his ears as the electrum healed the drums, sound finally started to filter back and he could make sense of the world around him again.

'Dick, what was that?' Asked Jason.

'You said the Court was dead.' Said Dick slowly.

'They are.' Said Bruce. 'They've been dead for nearly a decade.'

'Who are the Parliament of Owls?'

The bats tensed and exchanged looks, an action Dick did not fail to notice.

'Who are the Parliament of Owls?' He said again, but his voice now held a tone of command no one had heard from him before.

'From what we can tell,' started Bruce slowly, 'They are a copycat group, basing their beliefs and their agendas off the Court of Owls.' He paused for a moment to choose his words and then carried on. 'We do not believe they have created more Talons, however, they appear to be just as elusive and therefore potentially just as dangerous as the original Court.'

'It was the fire they started that led me to you.' Said Terry.

'They started a fire?'

Terry nodded, 'We think they started the fire to...' He stopped, unsure how to continue.

'To kill me.' Dick finished calmly. Their silence confirmed his theory. 'Where is the hibernation chamber?'

'What?' Asked Bruce, confused at the sudden change of topic.

'The hibernation chamber you found me in, where is it?' The level of command was creeping back into Dick's voice.

'It's in storage...why?'

'The Parliament has Ben.' Said Dick, he turned on his heels and marched in the direction of the storage rooms of the base. Wally, Artemis and the Bats followed.

'The Owls have Ben?' Wally's voice had risen slightly in pitch. 'Why would _they_ want to take him?'

'To get to me.' Said Dick quietly. He looked at his best friend. 'I'm sorry, I've caused so much trouble. But I will get him back.'

Jason was finally able to get ahead of Dick and forced him to stop. 'Dick, what did they want from you?'

'They want the Talon.' Said Dick after a moment's hesitation. He then pushed past Jason and entered the storage room, quickly catching sight of his chamber.

'And what exactly is your plan?'

Dick kicked the base of the chamber and a small compartment popped out. After pressing his thumb into the compartment a larger drawer opened revealing black and gold clothing, weapons and a mask. Dick drew out one of the gloves and pulled it onto his hand, activating a pair of sharp claws from the fingertips. He looked up at them with an expression that was both emotionless and dangerous, it reminded them all of what he really was.

'They want to see the monster.' Said Dick, pulling the claws back in. 'So the monster is what they will get.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

None of them liked this plan. If it wasn't for Dick's healing ability they would have considered it a suicide mission. Dick, however, didn't care. All he could focus on was getting Ben back unharmed. The location of the meeting was delivered much in the same way as the first, only this time it was Ben's voice delivering the address.

Dick was not stupid, he was not about to attend the meeting alone. He was not worried for his own safety, but while he was occupied with these new 'Owls', someone needed to get Ben to out.

They had all wanted to come, but they narrowed the party to Dick, Wally, Jason and Terry. Dick would be the one to intercede with the owls, the others would not approach, they were there for Ben and Ben alone. They would not interfere with the affairs of Dick and the Owls, just as the Parliament had requested.

The thought of Dick fighting alone did not sit well with Jason. But as he pulled on the red helmet, donning the persona of the Red Hood once more, Dick made him promise to prioritise West over himself.

The place of their meeting was the dark cavern in which Dick had lay in slumber for two decades. The message from Ben had simply been to meet where the Talon should have burned. After hearing about the fire that had led to his rescue, Dick guessed they meant here.

It was dark, quiet, cold. Dick felt his skin prickle against his suit. He hated the cold, all the Talon's did. The cold dulled their heightened abilities, made them more sluggish and slowed their healing process. It was likely why they had chosen this place to meet.

'You sure this is the right place?' Asked Flash.

Dick took a deep breath. There was a scent in the air that was unmistakable once you'd smelt it before. Magic.

'They're here. They're using magic, most likely to conceal themselves.'

'Why would they do that? They wanted us to come to them.' Asked Red Hood.

A female laugh echoed through the chamber, bouncing off the walls and making Dick scowl. Figures emerged from the shadows, each bearing an owl mask and sword.

'We have no need to conceal ourselves.' One of the figures came forward, their mask different from the others, more defined. 'The magic is simply an insurance.'

The voice was female and strong, it held clearly and didn't falter. This person has been trained to speak in public, trained to project her voice to a crowd. She indicated to a faint glowing line along the floor. 'You see, the spell cast is really quite simple. Only the Talon can enter the circle. But only the boy can leave it.' As she spoke more figures came forward, dragging a form between them wearing a hood.

When they were close enough for the heroes to see clearly, they pulled off the hood and revealed Ben's face, soaked with tears.

'Ben!' Shouted Flash.

'Flash!' Cried Ben, conditioned from a young age to never reveal his relationship to the Flash in front of others.

'You alright kid?' Asked Hood, his grip tightening on the gun at his side.

Ben nodded slowly.

'The second you enter the circle, you cannot go back. The only way to save the boy is to sacrifice yourself to the new order, Gray Son.'

'Dick don't they're going to kill you!' Cried, Ben. The boy's eyes widened when the smallest of the group stood forward. Dick was clad in black and gold, knives strapped to his chest and a sword hilted on his back. His eyes burned yellow in the dim light and his expression bore a look Ben had never seen on his friend. He realised with a sudden clench of his gut that this was the Talon. This was the assassin the Court had created. And it burned him, even more, to realise he was afraid of him.

Without hesitation, the Talon crossed the line. The figure laughed.

'I expected more of a fight from the Talon.' Even behind the mask, they could sense her grin.

'Release the boy.' Said Dick, his voice emotionless and cold.

'He will be released when I am through with you.' The figure stated.

'You will release him now.' Dick's voice had grown darker. 'Or I will be forced to take him from you.'

The owl laughed again.

'And just how do you plan to do that?' She asked, taking a step closer. 'We are the new order of the Owls. You are just a forgotten memory of a failed experiment. We are as strong as the Talon's without the weakness of electrum.'

'You don't have electrum?' Asked Batman. The figures headshot in his direction, for a second they appeared to decide whether to answer him.

'The electrum was what caused the extinction of the Talons. Their quest for immortality made them weak.' Her attention went back to Dick. 'So do you still think you can defeat us? The Parliament of the Owls against the boy who was trained to be the Court's slave?'

Dick bowed his head a sighed.

'I'll give you the fact that the electrum contributed to the extinction of the Talons. Their quest for power robbed them of their humanity...and mine. But you were wrong about one thing.' He lifted his head, his eyes hard and murderous.

'I wasn't trained to be a slave to the court. I was trained to lead it.'

 **A/N: I'm alive! Sorry for the slow update, life has been crazy! Please review with your thoughts! Karin x**


	15. Chapter 15

There was a stunned silence from the heroes. What was Dick talking about? Why would the Court kidnap him, keep him prisoner and then train him to lead them? It didn't make sense.

It was the leader of the Parliament that seemed to recover first from this revelation. She laughed, throwing her head back and letting the sound echo off the walls of the chamber. When she stopped she looked back down at the Talon.

'Kill him.'

The others around the room soon swarmed around him with their blades drawn. Dick watched them from the corners of his eyes. He didn't move, didn't reach for his weapon. He knew the second he drew a blade he would truly become the Talon he was trained to be. He would avoid that at all costs.

One of the owls became too close, Dick turned and caught the sword and kicked out, knocking the owl back. He threw the sword to the side, allowing the wound to heal. Then he turned to the others. Two more jumped forward and Dick dodged their attacks, knocking one out from behind and catching the other in a headlock until they passed out.

'Impressive Gray Son, but I don't think those are skills the Court taught you. They are far to tame. Why don't you show us what you can really do.'

Dick's hand twitched towards his weapons but he resisted.

'Ben.' Dick said quietly and the redhead looked over to him fearfully. 'Close your eyes and don't open them until I say. Ok?'

Ben's eyes widened in horror for a second, but then he nodded and closed his eyes tight. From the darkness, he could hear thuds and breaking bones and screams. He felt his breath catch in his chest but he dared not open his eyes. The screams hadn't come from Dick, that much he was certain of. Plus, the owl's grip on his arm was tightening and he could feel their body tense in anticipation. He knew Dick was fighting and he assumed he was winning. He just hoped his friend wasn't killing them.

'Enough.' The head of the owls sounded extremely frustrated. 'Kill the boy.'

The next few moments were very confusing for Ben. With his eyes still screwed shut, he felt the owl at his side move, he heard his father yell for them to stop, then he felt a weight crash into him and send him to the floor. He cried out in pain and tried to push himself away from them.

'Ben, it's me. You can open your eyes now.' Ben's eyes snapped open and he could see Dick's yellow eyes inches from his own. Dick was on top of him, shielding him from the owls. There was a warm and wet sensation on his chest, he glanced down and saw blood.

'Oh my god.' Said Ben, grabbing at his chest to feel for a wound.

'You're ok.' Dick breathed. 'The blood isn't yours.'

Calming slightly, Ben realised there was a katana buried to the hilt in Dick's abdomen. But unlike any other injury, Ben had ever seen Dick receive, this one wasn't healing. The blood was pouring from it and Dick's body was shaking in agony.

'Ben, I need you to do exactly as I say.' Dick whispered. 'I need you to run to the others, as fast as you can.'

'What about you?' Said Ben. Dick looked really bad, he didn't want to leave him here.

'I'll be fine. Promise me, you will run and you won't look back.' Dick groaned as a wave of pain hit him. 'Promise me, Ben.'

'I promise.'

'Good. Now go.' Dick rolled off the teen and Ben sped off towards his father. Dick groaned and attempted to touch the sword through his middle. The wave of pain swept over him again and he released it. He could already feel his body going into shock. He had hit the sword with such force as he had tried to come between the owl and Ben, that it had pieced right the way through him. He could feel the burning of the electrum building in his stomach and back, trying to heal not only the entry wound and the exit wound but his organs. He had never had an injury like this. Cobb had always been careful to miss his organs as they took longer to heal. Internal bleeding was something a talon tried to avoid when possible, as it was a terrible inconvenience. But for Dick, it was agony. Unable to remove the blade, he could not heal, he was bleeding out.

'You really don't live up to your legend Gray Son.' Her voice was coming closer. He tried to pull the sword again but was hit with nausea and pain. 'Tell me Talon, can you heal after being decapitated?'

Dick knew the answer was no. It was one of the only sure ways to kill a Talon. It was why the court had used beheading as the ultimate punishment. He could see her in the side of his vision now, see the shining glint of her sword. She was going to kill him. Maybe that was best, this world was too much for him. He had been kidding himself that he would be able to go back to a normal life. He had gone along with their plans to make them happy, to repay Bruce for his kindness, to make good his promise to Jason, to make up for the pain he caused Tim and Damian. But the reality was he was drowning inside. The electrum in his veins had been building and now even breaking his fingers would not settle it. He found moments of peace with his family, his friends. But when he was alone he knew the truth and it made him feel so helpless. The truth was he wished he had died. Every time he slept he dreamed of the darkness, the never-ending darkness of hibernation. When he was awake his memories were constantly dragged back to his time with the court which in turn reminded him that he was lying to his family. He had not been a prisoner, he had been at first, but by the end of that year he had given in and he had stayed of his own volition. He had been weak and dare he admit a little curious as to what the court could teach him. They had already made him into a talon, what life did he have away from them at that point? But the Court was gone now, he was all that was left. Alone in this world that didn't make any sense and that brought him so much pain and discomfort. Yes, maybe death was best.

Jason slammed his fists against the invisible barrier that separated him from the fight. The sight he saw was breaking his heart. Dick was lying there, a sword through his middle, bleeding over the floor. The mad owl woman was going to cut off his head and he was not fighting back.

'Dick, get up!' Jason shouted, but the kid didn't move. 'Richard get up!'

This could not be happening, they had just got him back and now he was going to watch Dick being beheaded right in front of him. For a split second, Jason thought that at least Wally had removed Ben from the chamber. No child should have to see this.

'Damn it Dick, get up!' Batman shouted, joining Jason in trying to break through the magic.

Dick's eyes settled on them, he could see them fighting and could just about hear them shouting over the beating of his own heart. He wished they would leave, he didn't want them to see this.

The Owls knee came to rest by his face and she looked down at him with her head tilted to one side.

'You really are pathetic.' She said. ''But what is more pathetic is the fact you actually thought you were saving them.'

That got his attention.

'Your so-called family has defiled the laws of the owls and as such, they will be removed. Your sacrifice was for nothing.' She stood once more and raised her sword. 'Goodbye, Gray Son.'

She brought the sword down towards Dick's neck but he rolled out of the way with inches to spare. Yelling out in pain as he disturbed the steel inside him. He got on his knees and took hold of the hilt. Pain exploded through him.

'Why fight the inevitable. It is time to die with the rest of your kind.' She raised the sword again. 'You're family will join you shortly.'

Jason and Terry froze as Dick ripped the blade from his stomach and blocked the owl's own sword. He then tallied, kicking her sword away before driving his own into her thigh. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Dick stood hunched over with his eyes closed for a moment as the external wound healed, then he straightened, looking down at the woman on the floor.

'Bet you wish you had electrum now.' He sneered. He then drew the sword from his back and turned to the other Owls. 'Listen, and hear me.' He said loudly. 'I am the Gray Son, heir of the Court of Owls and now I am the leader of the Parliament too.' He looked back at the woman on the floor, his eyes cold as he dared her to challenge him. She did not.

'I am letting you leave her out of mercy.' He continued, looking around the room at them all. 'But I will be watching and believe me when I say, if you whisper even a word of the Court of Owls again the Talon will come for your head.'

The owls looked at each other, considering the Talon's words. They seemed to decide it was not worth their lives to defy him. They backed away slowly, a few picking up their injured fellows. They disappeared into the darkness and with a sound like sudden rainfall, the magic barrier collapsed allowing Red Hood and Batman to join him.

Jason reached out to touch his arm but Dick pulled away.

'Don't touch me.' He said coldly. 'There is too much electrum flowing through my body at the moment. I'm not completely in control.' He confessed.

Jason pulled back his hand and nodded. 'Let's go home.'

 **A/N Another chapter for you all! This story seems to be getting more attention recently. Thank you so much for reading and for leaving your reviews. It really does motivate me to keep writing! Please keep the reviews coming. Until next time - Karin x**


	16. Chapter 16

'What the hell was that?' Jason was confused. He didn't like to be confused and that made him angry. Dick had been quiet the whole way back to the mountain, sat in the back of the jet with his eyes closed. There had been a series of cracking noises and Jason had noticed that Dick was breaking his fingers, one by one. When they had arrived at the mountain they had disembarked and Jason had turned on his adopted son.

Dick didn't show any emotion, he stared at the other man with blank eyes.

'Are you going to answer me?'

'You're going to need to be more specific.' Said Dick, his voice flat.

'So you're the leader of the Owls?'

'Apparently so.'

'Were you ever going to share that information with us? Or were you just going to let us continue believing you had been a prisoner for all that time?'

'I was a prisoner. Locked away in ice for two decades.' Dick snapped. 'And I held on as long as I could in the beginning. Held onto the hope that Batman would come for me, that someone would come.' His voice started to rise. 'But no one ever did. So I did what I needed to survive. I became their Gray Son.'

Jason went to yell again but Dick stood forward till he was an inch away from his face. 'So don't you dare judge me for what I did.'

This seemed to calm Jason slightly. He sighed and looked at the Talon sadly.

'We tried to find you. We all did. For years.'

'I know.' Dick was quieter now, but for some reason, he still seemed agitated.

'Dick, please don't shut yourself off again. Talk to me.' Jason pleaded. 'I know what it's like to expect rescue and for it not to come.'

'No, Jason.' There was a bitterness in his voice. 'You know what its like to die. And I appreciate that experience must have been horrific. But you don't know what its like to be trapped with no rescue, settled with the knowledge that no matter how many times they hurt you, starve you, stab you...you can't die.'

'Dick?' Bruce had listened in on the conversation and had seen the whole mission through Batman's eyes. He had seen Dick fight the Owls, seen him fight them off as though they were children and not trained killers. His speed and strength were like nothing he had ever seen and then he had run straight onto a sword in order to save the young speedster. He had felt horror as Dick had laid there waiting for his head to be cut off, he had felt relief and shock as the kid had ripped the sword from his body to defend himself. And he hadn't known what to think or feel as he watched the boy he had taken in from the Circus stand and announce himself the leader of the Court and the Parliament of Owls alike. Like Jason, he was confused at the revelation that Dick had been trained to be the heir of the Court, and by elimination was now technically their leader. But unlike Jason, he wasn't angry. He blamed himself for not being able to find Dick and hearing the young boys confession had made him feel so sad for the Talon. Whatever Dick had done, he had done it to survive the cards he had been dealt. Bruce came forward and touched his hand to Dick's shoulder. The younger's cold expression softened.

'I'm sorry.' Dick said, his eyes downcast, looking ashamed.

'Whatever happened after the Court took you was not your fault. And I do not blame you.' Said Bruce. "I'm just sorry I didn't save you from it.'

Dick nodded sadly, then his eyes travelled past Bruce and saw Ben in the doorway.

'Are you alright?' He asked the redhead, who nodded but didn't come any closer. "I'm sorry if I scared you.'

Ben smiled, glad that Dick was starting to sound more like himself. For a while, the coldness in his voice had made him seem more Talon than anything else. But even so, there was something wrong, Dick was holding himself in a strange way and he seemed uncomfortable. Damian noticed this too as soon as he set his eyes on his brother. But he said nothing about it, instead proceeding to debrief them.

Dick slowly recounted his version of events and Damian watched him closely. When he got to the part about running onto the blade, Dami tutted.

'That was an amateur move, even if you can't be killed you must have known it would slow you down.'

'I wasn't really thinking about that, I had to stop Ben from being hurt.' Dick shouted in defence. Damian smirked at him but then frowned. There was blood coating Dick's lips.

The Talon coughed and rubbed his mouth, blood smearing onto the back of his hand. The burning of the electrum in his stomach had been building to excruciating levels as it tried to heal his organs. Cobb had always told him that organs were precious as they were hard to heal while the body remained functioning. For them to completely heal the body must first be slowed down to the lowest possible functions, otherwise, the organs simply do not heal and the Talon risked doing permanent damage.

More blood dripped from Dick's mouth and he groaned slightly from the pain.

'Dick?'Both Damian and Jason took hold of his arms as his legs started to shake. 'Get him to the med bay.'

Jason scooped Dick up into his arms but Dick protested, fighting his way back to his feet. 'I'm fine, I can walk.' Slowly they walked down the corridor, when they arrive Jason helped Dick up onto one of the beds. The youngers face was filled with pain.

Damian pulled up his brother's shirt, noticing there were no marks, no scars. The wound from the sword had completely healed, but when he pressed on his stomach Dick yelped in pain and coughed up more blood.

'He's bleeding internally.' Damian said alarmed. 'Why isn't he healing?'

'When the Talon's were severally injured they would go into hibernation to heal.' Bruce's voice emerged from behind them filled with looked down at Dick, with kind eyes. 'I'm right, aren't I?'

Dick actually whimpered as he nodded. 'Please don't.'

'Dick you're in pain, you need to heal.' Said Jason slowly.

Dick ignored him, his eyes not leaving Bruce's. 'Please don't put me back in there.'

Bruce ran a hand through Dick's hair and sighed, unsure what to do. He could understand the boys fear, anyone could. But he also knew that he wasn't prepared to sit here and watch him wither in agony.

Sweat was beginning to form on Dick's forehead and his breathing was ragged. He clenched his jaw tight and bit back another moan. He had seen what an injury such as this could do to someone like him. His thoughts drifted back to when he had asked William about it for the first time.

 _Dick ran quickly behind Cobb as they entered one of the designated med rooms._

' _What happened?' Cobb demanded as he entered, Dick still on his heels._

' _Grand Master.' One of the Talons bowed his head. 'He was crushed by falling debris, it shattered his bones, burst his spleen and collapsed his lungs. He was trapped for four days before he managed to get himself out.'_

 _Cobb walked over to the Talon on the bed, he was shaking and moaning in agony. Cobb rested a hand on his head._

' _Rest now, hibernation will recover you.' He said almost gently. Almost._

 _The others wheeled in a hibernation chamber and together they shifted the shaking body onto the inner plate and lowered him down into the chamber. The Talon closed his eyes as the lid was shut and the fog of cold started the freezing process._

 _Dick shivered, he hated those chambers. He had been in them a few times, and each time it got harder to go back in. He hated how helpless he felt, lying there and waiting for the ice to freeze you over._

' _You will learn to appreciate the sleep.' Said Cobb, noticing Dick's shiver. 'Especially should you receive injuries such as those.'_

' _Will he be alright?' Dick asked._

' _Yes, Gray Son. A few days in the chamber and he will be ready for his next mission.'_

 _Dick frowned, he hated being called Gray Son. He often asked them to call him Richard (not Dick, that was reserved for his friends and family), but they never did._

' _What would happen if he didn't...sleep?' Dick asked quietly. The main thing he had become aware of about the Talon's was how hard they were to kill, their bodies regenerated faster than an injury could kill them. But in this instance, it looked as though the electrum and the injury were at a race to the end._

' _It is the same with most injuries to the organs.' Cobb said matter of factly. 'They are harder to heal and can very easily become disabling. If you ever suffer from an internal injury you must come back here for hibernation. Do you understand Gray Son?'_

' _Would I die?' Dick asked, genuinely curious._

' _No.' Said Cobb flatly. 'But you could enter a line between death and life. Your injury would take you to the cusp of death and the electrum would bring you back. This would continue, over and over until you are placed on ice.'_

 _Dick thought about Cobbs words a lot. To be caught between the darkness of death and the agony of life. It sounded like torture._

'Dick? Dickie open your eyes!'

His eyelids felt heavy but he pulled them apart to see Jason leaning over him, with his hands clasped together firmly on his chest, as though he had been giving him CPR.

'Stay with us, Buddy.' Said Jason, he put two fingers to the side of Dick's neck and then turned to Damian. 'His hearts going again but its very erratic.'

As his awareness of his surroundings returned as did his awareness of the pain, only now it was even worse than before. Was this what Cobb had meant? To be shown a few merciful seconds of death only to be dragged back into life and rewarded with even more pain.

'Get the chamber.' He heard someone say. He didn't know who and he didn't care. He moaned out a plea but his mouth was once again coated with coppery blood. He couldn't talk, couldn't breathe. But he could hear the sound of something heavy being wheeled in. They were going to put him back in the ice, back into the never-ending darkness. Feeling none of the strength and bravery he had felt not a few hours before while facing the Owls, Dick began to cry. Silent tears falling from the corners of his eyes and down the side of his face. When someone drew close to him and tried to touch him, he fought them away with the strength he had left until he felt them retreat. Then he led back, feeling himself fading once again.

A hand came to rest on his forehead again and once more he tried to fight them off but a voice shushed him.

'It's all right Dick.' It was Tim. 'Just stay calm, you're going to make yourself worse.' His voice was calm and soothing. 'Tell me what you're afraid of.'

'I don't want to go back in there.' Dick whispered, tired from pain.

'I've gathered that.' Said Tim with a kind smile. 'But I want you to tell me why.'

'I don't want to wake up and have missed more time.'

Tim had figured as much, but he had wanted Dick to voice his fear out loud.

'That's understandable. But Dick, you are with us now. We will not leave you in there for longer than you need to be. In a few days, you will be healed and we will wake you back up. I promise you.'

Dick was silent, a few more tears escaping down the side of his face.

'I can't.'

'Can't what?'

Dick coughed and turned his head and more blood threatened to choke him. Tim wiped his mouth and settled him back down. 'Can't what, Dick?'

'I can't do it. You don't know what it's like, lying there and having the cold settle into your body. It's horrific.'

'How did the owls do it?' Asked Tim, afraid of the answer.

'They held me down while they shut the lid. I would scream and claw at the glass, begging them to let me out. Then the freezing would begin, your body shuts down first, then your senses. Your consciousness is the last to go.'

Jason turned away, nauseated. At least when he had died it had been quick, instant. He looked down at the lid of the chamber, sure enough, there were small scratches on the glass.

'Please do..n't..put...' Dick's eyes closed again, his body going limp.

'Dick!' Jason leapt forward again, but Tim waved him off, putting a finger on Dick's pulse. There was no heartbeat, but he had a theory about Dick's condition. It was about to be put to the test. 'Dick, can you hear me? Open your eyes.'

Dick took a shuddering breath and his eyes peeled open slowly. Tim nodded to himself, it was just as he thought.

Dick moaned again as the pain returned tenfold.

'Dick, this is only going to get worse. You know that.'Tim said quietly. 'The electrum can't heal you, but it won't let you die either.'

The look in those yellow eyes told him he already knew this fact.

Damian watched the whole scene with disgust. What had those monsters done to him? The image of them holding the screaming boy down kept replaying in his mind's eye. He knew Richard had to go back into the chamber in order to heal the internal bleeding that was currently causing him so much pain, but he wished there was a way to make it easier for the kid. And in an instant, he suddenly had a thought. He walked over to the edge of the room and wheeled over a canister of anaesthetic. When he was by Dick's side, he dug in one of the cabinets and found a mask, attaching it to the canister.

Dick watched him silently but when Damian brought the mask down to his face, he grasped his wrist with surprising strength and wouldn't let him any closer.

'Richard, this is going to happen. It's up to you whether we do it the easier way or the hard way.' Damian said sternly. They were words Richard himself had once said to him as a young boy when he had first come to stay at Wayne Manor. Dick's bottom lip quivered as he released Damian's arm and allowed the young man to place the mask over his nose and mouth.

'Deep breaths, Dick. It will be over soon.' Said Tim, continuing to stroke the sweaty bangs from his face.

Dick took deep breaths, relaxing a little with each one. The pain was ebbing away, his family was here around him, they would protect him. It took longer than the average person but finally, Dick slipped into fitful sleep. They lowered him down into the chamber carefully, closing the lid and activating the chamber. Thankfully, after a decade of researching the Talons, it was easy enough to do. The fog filled the chamber, freezing Dick's body and putting him into hibernation.

'What now?' Asked Damian, looking down at the boy in the ice and remembering the sight from months ago when they first found him.

'Now, we wait.'


	17. Chapter 17

Like a jolt his eyes flew open, the adrenaline forcing him off his back and onto his feet, hyper-aware of his surroundings. He gasped oxygen into his lungs in pants and looked around, eyes settling on the man walking towards him slowly.

'You're alright Dick.' Said Jason.

'How long?' Dick said, his voice quiet with disuse.

'Five days.' He came closer, looking the boy over. 'How do you feel?'

'Better.' Dick said quickly, all the remnants of the pain were gone. But what was left was a need to move, a need to fight.

'You alright?' Said Jason, sensing his agitation.

'How many people are in the gym?'

'I don't know, a few I would imagine, it's the middle of the day.' Jason could see Dicks muscles twitching. 'Dick?'

'I need to work off this adrenaline. I feel wired.' Dick felt like this body was buzzing. Generally, when they were brought out of hibernation it was to go on a mission, so everything felt heightened and ready for a fight. To wake up with the sudden realisation that there was no mission or training made him feel very out of place. Thankfully, Jason seemed to understand his problem. He brought out his phone and typed into it for a few seconds, then nodded for Dick to follow him.

'Where are we going?' Asked Dick.

'The gym.'

They entered the gym and headed straight for the sparing mats. Dick looked suspicious and his suspicion only grew when Tim, Damian and Terry all joined them dressed in combat suits.

'What's going on?' Asked Tim.

'Dick needs a work out, so we're going to spar.'

'Four on one, that's a little unfair isn't it?' Asked Terry.

'That's why I told you to come in your suits, that way you might actually stand a chance against him.' Jason winked at Dick.

'I don't know.' Said Dick, looking over his family. He didn't want to risk hurting them.

'Dick, we are all wearing protection and you don't have any weapons. Tim and I haven't been in the game for a while, but we're still well trained. Terry's Batman and we all know Damian's still in practice.'

Damian make a tut sound and rolled his eyes, of course, he was still in practice. Training was all he had ever known, he couldn't give that up even if he was no longer an active vigilante. The blood son of Wayne, saw the hesitation in Dick's stance, but when he looked up at Jay's smile he seemed to give in.

'Alright, but you asked for it.' He said.

It didn't take long for other heroes to gather around when they saw that there was about to be a match between all of the Bats.

His brothers and Terry all donned protective masks to their faces, so the only way to decipher between them was their size and the backs of their heads. Together they circled Dick, readying for the fight to begin.

Dick remained for the most part in a relaxed stance, although his body was on high alert he didn't tense it or change how he was standing. He watched them, each in turn as they took their places. Damian was to his left, Jason to his right. Tim was behind him and Terry in front of him. When the voice from the sparring mats began their fight, they all came at him at once in a silent but practiced formation. To the bystanders, and even the Bats, it looked as though they were going to all hit Dick at the same time. But then the Talon disappeared. Not expecting the sudden escape of their target, Terry slammed into Tim and the two were thrown to the ground. Damian and Jason managed to catch themselves and turned around just in time to block an attack from behind. Dick's whole body was off the ground and he was practically balanced on Damians arms which were crossed in an X shape in front of his face. He kicked off, sending Damian stumbling back slightly.

'He's fast.' Said Terry, watching as Dick flipped off Damian and landed softly on his feet. He knew the kid was skilled, he had seen him fight the Owls not a week earlier. But it is one thing to watch someone fight and another to actually fight them yourself.

Before he could attack again, Jason ran forward faking right and then attacking left. Unfortunately, Dick saw this coming and not only got out of the way but used Jason's own weight against him, sending him flying face first onto the ground. Not wasting another second Dick was on Terry again.

Terry fought back, blocking the kids hit and kicks and getting in a few of his own which were also blocked. For a moment it looked like they were on even footing, but it soon became clear that Dick was simply biding his time. Sensing that there was another person coming up behind him, he lifted himself into the air, roundhouse kicked Terry to the side of the head and quickly turning to block Tim's attack.

Tim felt his eyes widen as he was thrown over Dick's shoulder, unable to catch himself he hit the ground hard with his back, knocking the air from his lungs. As he struggled for breath, Damian took over and forced Dick away from him. He was using his full strength now to fight the Talon, and he had almost convinced himself that he was giving his brother a run for his money. But then he caught a look in those golden eyes and when he saw a small smile on Dicks lips, Dami suddenly realised the truth. Dick was playing with them. Here he was throwing nearly everything he had at the smaller male, and Dick was barely breaking a sweat. For some reason, this angered him and despite the mask covering his face, Dick seemed to sense the sudden change in Damian's mood.

The smile on his lips faded and he frowned as he dodged the attacks. He became focused on Damian, as though trying to work out what was wrong. So focused, that he failed to see Jason behind him.

Jason, presuming Dick was just going to dodge, threw his full weigh behind the punch. Dick sensed the other presence a little too late, turning his head just in time for Jason's fist to connect with his nose sending his head snapping back. He hit the floor and rolled, bringing himself back onto his knees. Blood dripped onto the glowing surface of the sparing mat.

'Woah, Dick are you ok?' Asked Jason, removing the mask. He hadn't expected the punch to land and he had felt Dick's nose break under his knuckles. He walked towards him but stopped when Dick looked up from his crouched position. His eyes were hard and his jaw was set firm. 'Oh shit.' Said Jason, managing to replace the mask just as his adopted son pounced.

Until the moment Dick had been punched, the small crowd that had gathered around the training mats had been cheering. After Dick had hit the floor they had fallen silent. Now they simply watched in awe as one by one each of the Bats were taken down and thrown off the mat. Damian was the last the fall.

' _Damian Fail.'_ Damian growled at the automated voice, punching the ground with his fist.

The others all got up and regathered, groaning and rubbing various parts of their bodies. Dick jumped off the mats and joined them, blood still dripping slowly from his broken nose.

'I did try to warn you.' He said, watching the others tenderly remove their masks.

'You did.' Said Terry, rubbing his shoulder. 'I'm just glad you are on our side.' He chuckled.

Jason reached forward and gripped Dick's chin, tilting his face to the light.

'Sorry about your nose.'

'It's ok, the electrum will heal it soon enough.' Sure enough, there was a click as his nose straightened out. Dick grunted as the bone reset, but otherwise didn't react.

'Feeling better?'

'Much, thank you.' Dick looked over each of his family members. 'Are you ok?'

'We're fine. Almost makes me miss going on patrol.' Jason laughed.

'Speak for yourself.' Said Tim, holding his lower back. 'I love you Dick, but I am not doing that again.'

Dick nodded in understanding, after having his nose broken he had gone a little over board on them.

'Right come on.' Said Jason. 'Go and get showered, there is someone at home that has been worrying about you for days.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

As soon as they entered the manor through the secret entrance from the cave, they were met by the sound of rapid scrabbling sounds on the wooden floor before the large Great Dane came thundering into the room. Ace bounded up to them and shoved his head into Dick's chest until the boy wrapped his arms around his body and scratched his fingers through the black fur.

'What the heck happened to you four?' Annie appeared in the doorway, looking over the four men who were still holding their sore bodies tenderly.

'Remind me never to spar with Dick again.' Said Tim, walking passed her into the house.

Dick grinned self consciously, still scratching the huge dog behind his ears. The others left the room to go about their day and Annie came closer to the Talon.

'Are you ok?'

He nodded, straightening up and pushing Ace away slightly to let him know scratch time was over.

Annie sighed in relief and came forward, wrapping her arms around him. Dick could only compare Annie's hugs to Alfreds. Like a lot of the British, physical contact wasn't something they did on a regular basis, but that just made their hugs even better when they did. Dick melted into the hug, savouring the motherly gesture and choosing to ignore the fact that Annie was actually younger than him. She was the closest thing he had to a mother figure and he didn't want to spoil this moment with the messy, confusing truth.

Annie held the side of her cheek in Dick's hair. When she'd heard about Dick's injury she had been so worried, not just about his physical well being but his metal one as well. She had seen the footage from Terry's cowl, Dick had been ready to give up and die. Although she had been relieved when he suddenly fought back, it did make her wonder what mental state the young boy was in.

'Where's Bruce?' She heard him say and finally released him from her embrace.

'He's at the office dealing with a few meetings. We didn't realise you would wake up today, otherwise, he would have been here.'

Dick looked at her confused, Jason had woken him up, did he not discuss it with Bruce first?

'You're healing took longer than expected.' She explained. 'We expected you to be back to full strength in a few days, but the chambers readings kept saying you were still healing. Jason was checking several times a day, he didn't want you to be in there any longer than you needed to be'

A warmth filled Dick's chest towards the man who had taken him under his wing in this strange new world.

Terry's head popped around the door frame, a grin plastered on his face.

'Hey Dick, I'm heading out to meet Max and Dana, you wanna come?'

Dick looked at Annie, more for support than permission. Going out with Terry to hang out with his friends sounded far to normal for someone like him.

Annie smiled and pushed him towards the door. 'Go on, go and have some fun. I'll let Jay know where you are.'

Following Terry to the front door, the other teen through a wooly hat at him. Dick stared at the item of clothing in his hands and then back up to Terry in confusion.

'While you were asleep the weather turned, it's pretty cold out.' Wearing boots and a warm coat himself, Terry opened the door and Dick took a step back as the cold air hit his face. The snow had come down thick and heavy and the ground was blanketed in a thick coating.

Dick shivered. After 5 days in hibernation, he was so done with the cold. But the thought of hanging out like a normal teenager was more appealing, so he slipped the hat on his hand, heavy boots on his feet and grabbed a warm coat from the hook by the door and followed Terry outside.

He could feel all his muscles tighten as they walked down towards Terry's car. Every instinct telling him to get out of the cold. But he pushed forward, he refused to let the Court take this moment of normalcy from him. Finally, he got into the car and huddled closer into his coat.

'You doing alright?' Asked Terry, when he got into the drivers seat.

'Yep.'

'You'll be happy to know we are meeting the girls at a coffee shop, so it will be warm.'

Dick made a sound of contentment, and then a moan of satisfaction when Terry turned the hot air on. The new Batman grinned from behind the wheel as he watched his friend try to warm himself back up.

'I'm guessing you won't be helping me clear the snow from the drive in the morning when the next snowfall comes tonight?'

Dick shook his head, closing his eyes and concentrating on not freezing.

With another chuckle, Terry started the car and carefully made his way down the drive and onto the road heading into town.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was several hours later when Bruce had finally finished with his meeting for the day. Annie was there to collect him just as the snow was beginning to fall again.

'Jason texted me earlier saying Dick was awake.' Bruce said when they were heading back to the house. 'How is he?'

'He's fine.' Said Annie, eyes glued to the road. 'The guys sparred with him after he woke up.'

'Oh yes, how did that go?'

'I don't think Tim is keen for a rematch.' Annie grinned. 'He's currently out with Terry and his friends.'

'Tim?'

'No, Dick...' She paused, squinting through the snow when they came to a red light. She laughed. 'In fact, speak of the devil.'

Bruce looked out of the window in the direction she was facing. On the other side of the road was a cosy looking coffee show. In the window of the shop sat Terry and Dick along with a girl he recognised as Max and another girl with long black hair, whom he presumed was Terry's girlfriend. He watched them for several moment. For the first time in nearly a year, he saw Dick being completely normal. He was sat on a sofa right beside the window, his legs curled under himself. He had a mug in his hands and he was looking intently at Terry who seemed to be telling a story to the group. Bruce's heart surged with happiness when he saw Dick throw his head back and laugh along with the others. He looked genuinely happy.

'Should we stop and say hello?' Asked Annie, although she already knew how he would answer.

'No, let him be. I'm sure there are hard times still to come, let him have this moment to be care free and happy in his new world.'

 **A/N: Ahh it's been a little while since I've posted. I actually got a new job in another city so I spend a lot of time travelling to and from work and then obviously actually working. I love it but it takes a lot of energy! Anyho! Christmas holidays are upon us, so I am hoping I will be able to get a few more chapters posted! Please review to let me know if you are enjoying this story, your reviews are one of my favourite things in the whole world :) Karin x**


	18. Chapter 18

'Terry you seem agitated?' said Max, touching her friends' shoulder. He was staring at the parking lot with an anxious expression on his face. 'Are you ok?'

'Yeh, Max I'm fine.' Said Terry. He sighed. 'Dick's starting today, I called round last night to see if he wanted to catch a ride in with me, but he said he would rather make his own way here.'

'I'm sure he's fine Ter.' Said Dana, she really liked Dick and she could understand why Terry was so worried, every time they hung out as a group in the city Dick seemed very jumpy and looked at a lot of things as though he was seeing them for the first time. It made him seem so innocent and vulnerable. But from the time she had spent around him she could already sense that he was stronger than he looked.

'I know, I just worry about him.'

'You're going to give yourself worry lines.'

They all jumped and turned to see Dick sat on the wall beside them, looking as though he had been sat there all along.

'Dude, don't do that.' Said Terry, holding a hand to his chest. The talon grinned and lowered his eyes. It was then that Terry took in what the kid was wearing. Black jeans and a black hoodie. An outfit that just screamed that it was trying to blend in. He was sure the kid would have the hood up if he thought it would help.

'How did you get here? Jason bring you in?'

Dick rolled his eyes. 'Nope, he's freaking out about me coming here. Tim called it parental separation anxiety.'

'Are you ok?' asked Terry, he could see Dick was trying to put on a brave face, but his face showed anxieties of his own.

'Yeh, I'm fine.' Dick tried a smile, but it didn't look right. 'It's just the last time I did this it didn't go so well.' The eyes went back to the floor.

'You went to school before?' asked Max, as far as she was aware Dick had been home schooled all his life.

'A long time ago.' Said Dick, this time he didn't raise his eyes to talk. 'I don't really want to talk about it.'

'It's ok man. You've got us this time.' Said Terry. Dick didn't let on how much his heart suddenly yearned for Babs and Artemis when he said that.

'Come on, we better get inside.'

As they walked through the corridor it became apparent that Dick's plan of blending in was not going to work. Everyone watched them and whispered as they walked passed. Terry caught bits of the whispers, but he knew for a fact Dick was hearing all off it. Dick's eyes never left the floor and Terry had never seen him look so vulnerable.

As they continued down the hall, Nelson Nash and his crew came from the opposite direction. Dick sensed them, and side stepped to avoid them, but Nelson side stepped too and crashed into him. He had intended to send the kid to the ground, but Dick managed to stay on his feet and didn't seem to be unbalanced.

'Watch where you're going freak.' Said Nelson.

'Leave him alone Nelson, you're the one that walked into him.'

'You got a problem McGinnis?'

'Yeh, maybe I do.'

'Terry!' Dana pulled her boyfriend back. 'This isn't helping, just walk away.'

'Better listen to your girlfriend McGinnis.' Nelson smirked. 'And you.' He pointed at Dick, who didn't flinch. 'You better stay out of my way freak.'

 _Freak!_

 _Circus Freak!_

' _Hey Circus Freak, what did I tell you about being such a know it all in class, it makes the rest of us look bad.'_

' _Your lack of brain cells isn't really my problem, Jack.' Said Dick, placing his books into his locker. He heard the older boy growl and felt him grab the back of his uniform. Dick didn't try to stop him as he slammed his face into the locker door._

' _What did you say to me, Circus Freak? You think just because Bruce Wayne took in your little charity case ass that you can talk to me like that?'_

 _Dick didn't say anything, he just glared wishing he could punch Jack's smug face. But he couldn't, because as far as the world was aware, he wasn't Robin. He was just a skinny 13-year-old who was too smart for his own good. To protect the secret of Batman and Robin, Dick had to let them beat him to a pulp. He then went home, hiding the bruises from Bruce, Alfred and his brothers._

'Dick?'

Dick blinked, brought back to the present moment. Nelson was gone but his friends were stood around him looking worried.

'Sorry, what did you say?' said Dick, he wasn't sure who had said his name.

'I asked if you were ok, you were miles away.' Said Terry, his expression less confused than the girls but just as concerned.

'Yeh, I'm fine. It just brings back old memories.' He confessed.

'Nelson's a jerk.' Said Dana.

'He's not the first jock to call me a freak.' Said Dick sadly. Funny thing was, in the time that had passed since Jack Willbourne had dubbed him a Circus Freak, he had actually become one.

'If he gives you any more problems you come to me, ok?' said Terry.

'I can take care of myself Terry.' Said Dick, a little annoyed.

'We better get to class.' Said Max, sensing Dick's agitation. Together they walked through the halls, to their first class which thankfully they all had together.

Dick sat with Terry at the back of the class. Dick was starting to feel a little better, the act of sitting in a class room and preparing for a lesson was familiar. But he sank into his chair and groaned when their teacher entered the room.

Terry noticed and looked to him in question. Dick didn't turn to him, instead keeping his eyes glued to the desk.

The teacher started handing out copies of the text they would be studying. When he placed one on Dick's desk he paused.

'Mr Todd, glad you could finally join us. I am Mr Willbourne. I actually knew your father and uncle when we were younger.'

Dick looked up into the aged face of the man who had made his high school years a living hell. The man made no attempt to hide his shock at seeing Dick's eyes. His eyebrows practically raising off his face.

Dick swallowed, knowing the man was expecting him to say something but all he could feel was the panic rising in his chest.

'Please excuse me a moment.' He said quietly, then before waiting for an answer he pushed his seat back and headed for the door.

Coming here was a bad idea. He wasn't safe to be around normal people. There were too many triggers here to set him off, to make him loose control.

A hand grabbed him from behind and made him turn, then Terry took hold of his upper arms.

'Dick breathe.'

It was only then that Dick realise he was having a panic attack. He tried to take air into his lungs, but they wouldn't do it.

'Dick, you have to breathe.' Said Terry. When Dick still didn't react, he pulled the Talon into the men's bathroom and against a sink.

'I'm calling Jason.' Said Terry. Dick grabbed his arm and shook his head. 'Dick, I don't know how to handle this!'

'Tim.' Dick choked, sinking down to the floor. What was happening, why couldn't he get a grip?

Terry dialled Tim's number.

'Come on, come on pick up.'

' _Terry?'_

'Tim, we need help, Dick's having a panic attack and I don't know what to do!'

' _Why is Dick having a panic attack?'_

'I don't know, but Dick's not breathing!'

' _Pass Dick the phone.'_

Terry put the phone to Dick's ear and the other teen pressed his hand against it to keep it in place.

' _Dick can you hear me? I need you to take one really deep breath, can you do that for me?'_

Dick didn't say anything, but he closed his eyes and after a moment he finally took a deep breath.

' _Well done, that's great Dick, now take another one…good!'_ Tim's voice was soothing him as Dick took some more breaths.

' _Now Dick, I want you to tell me 3 things you can see.'_

Opening his eyes Dick looked around.

'I can see Terry, stalls, sinks.'

Tim went through each of the senses until finally Dick took a deep breath and finally felt calm.

' _Well done Dick. Do you want to tell me what's going on?'_

Dick bit his lip, but sighed and Tim knew he was giving in.

'Did you know he worked here?'

' _Who?'_

'Jack Willbourne.'

' _Shit, really? Didn't Jason notice the bastards name?'_

'Jason doesn't know. You weren't meant to find out.' Said Dick, he could remember the day Tim had found him cleaning a particularly bad cut in the boy's bathroom. He had demanded to know where he had hurt himself. Dick had told him and begged him not to tell any of the other family members.

' _I'll get you transferred out of his class.'_ Said Tim.

'No, don't.' said Dick, finally picking himself off the floor.

' _Dick, are you really ok with the guy who used to beat you every day, teaching you English three times a week?'_ Tim's voice was taking on the parental tone that Jason had perfected in the last year.

'I'll be fine. It's not like either of us are the same people, anymore right?' Dick joked weakly.

They said their good byes and Dick handed Terry back the phone with thanks.

Terry stared at him like he had grown a second head.

'I'm fine.' Said Dick, understanding the look. 'Thank you, for handling that.'

'What set you off?' said Terry.

'I knew Mr Willbourne when I was at Gotham Academy…twenty-three years ago.' Dick said carefully.

'I take it you didn't get on?'

'Let's just say he made Nelson Nash look like a saint.' Dick sighed and looked at his watch, their English class was pretty much finished. 'We better go.'

Terry was surprised when Dick started heading back towards the class room, even more surprised when Dick knocked on the empty classroom door and re-entered Wilbourne's class room.

'Mr Todd are you alright?' he said, looking up from his desk. 'You left in quite the hurry.'

'Yes, I came to apologise.' Said Dick. 'I wasn't feeling well.'

'First day nerves?'

Dick met his eye. 'Something like that.' Dick went to retreat.

'Listen, Richard.' Mr Willbourne looked uncomfortable for a moment before continuing. 'Your Uncle and I…we didn't have the best relationship growing up. Frankly, I was horrible to him. Since his disappearance I've had a lot of time to regret that.'

Dick stared at the man in shock, but the teacher continued.

'I guess what I am trying to say is if you need anything, please feel you can come to me.'

The Talon blinked at the man, speechless. Had his high school bully just apologised to him? Well not directly, but he said he regretted his treatment of Richard Grayson, that counted as an apology, right?

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The rest of the school day had passed with little more incident and Dick found comfort in the dullness of the lessons. He missed being able to spend a few hours a day being a normal teenager, even if it was only pretend.

He was surprised when Tim appeared to pick him up. Less so when he closed the car door and became swamped with questions.

'Tim, I'm alright, really.' Said Dick, he then explained what had happened after he went back to his English classroom. Tim looked at him in shock.

'Well that was unexpected.' He said, leaning back in his seat. 'Then again, it has been a very long time and your disappearance shocked a lot of people.' Tim mused.

'Can we go home please?' said Dick, also leaning back in his seat. 'I haven't been this tired in a very long time.' He was exhausted. Not so much physically, but mentally and emotionally he was drained. He hadn't had to deal with this many sounds or new people before and having to also act normal the entire day had taken its toll.

'Sure.' Tim started the car. 'Can we not tell Jay about what happened today though? I really can't deal with another scene like this morning.'

'Deal.' Said Dick, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of the heated seat on his back.

When they entered the manor, Tim quickly disappeared upstairs leaving Dick to slowly take off his coat and shoes.

'Dick?' he heard Annie shout from the living room. He walked in to find her curled up on the sofa with a book, as she often was on a Monday afternoon. He crawled onto the sofa and sank down next to her, leaning his head gently on her shoulder to see what she was reading.

'Frankenstein.' He said, recognising the words on the page. 'Classic.'

'I prefer Dracula, but this is still one of my favourites.' She placed a book mark in the book and placed it to the side of her, reaching an arm around and drawing him close. 'You look tired.'

'Long day.' Said Dick, relishing the contact. 'But not a bad one.'

'Well don't you two look cosy.' Said Jason, 'Room for one more?'

'Only if you bring that blanket with you.' Said Annie, indicating to one of the thick woolly blankets in the basket by the TV. Jason obliged, selecting the one he knew was her favourite and joining them on the couch. He sank into the place next to Dick and draped the blanket over all of them.

They sat together, watching a movie that Dick hadn't seen. Dick felt very comfortable, sat between the man who had taken the role of his father and the woman who had taken the role, if unknowingly, of his mother. Sitting together like this felt so normal, so right, like they were a little family. Wrapped in their little world under the blanket, he fell asleep believing it.

The movie ended, and Jason looked down to Dick's sleeping form curled into his side.

'See, he's home and safe. No need for worrying.' Said Annie as she brushed a few strands of hair from the boy's face. He needed his hair cut again.

'I know, I over reacted.' Said Jason, referring to his show of over protectiveness that morning. He had followed Dick around, double checking he had everything, asking him time and time again if he was sure he was ready. Annie had put a stop to it when she could see it was starting to affect her youngest charge. She had pushed Jason into the kitchen and taken Dick to school herself.

'He had a good day.' She smiled. 'It was a good idea sending him back to school.'

Jason frowned, there had been something troubling him for a while.

'Penny for your thought?'

'It's been nearly a year since we found him in the ice.' Said Jason, looking down into Dick's sleeping face. Other than the new haircut and the more contented expression, Dick looked exactly the same. In a year he hadn't grown or filled out. He explained this worry to Annie.

'Annie. I don't think Dick is aging.'

 **A/N Happy New Year everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I still have a few days before I go back to work for the new year so I am hoping to get at least one more chapter published before next week! Please review to let me know if you are enjoying this story! Thanks, Karin x**


	19. Chapter 19

By the end of the week, Dick was pissed. While he was at school Nelson pecked at his patience. It seemed tormenting the newcomer had become Nelson Nash's new favourite pass time. When he was at home, Jason wouldn't leave him alone. He wanted to run test after test for something he wouldn't disclose to Dick. After three days of blood draws, scans and other invasive tests Dick had had enough.

Thursday night had been the beginning of the breaking point and Dick and Jason had had their first proper argument, which had ended with Dick storming out of the house. He had spent the night at Terry's and had come to school the next day in the same stormy mood.

'You do the dark brooding thing better than Bruce.' Said Terry. They were sat in the gym on the bleachers, enjoying the peace of their lunch break.

'Sorry.' Said Dick.

'Still thinking about Jason?' Terry asked. The Talon hadn't given him much information when he had called him last night. Simply stating that he and Jay had had a huge fight, and could he crash at his house. When Terry had gone to pick him up, not wanting the kid to walk too far in the cold, it was evident he had been biting his lip right up to the point he got in the car. There was blood coating his lip, but the boy rubbed it away on the back of his hand and neither said anything about it.

'I know he wants to do right by me,' said Dick, arms crossed over his chest and leaning against the wall. 'But whatever he is trying to find will only cause him grief.'

Terry raised an eyebrow.

'My DNA isn't human Terry.' Dick said quietly. 'If Jason keeps freaking out about every inhuman thing about me, it's going to drive him (and me) crazy.'

'What do you think he's looking for?'

'I don't know. He won't say, which is annoying because it might be a question, I can just answer for him. Save me getting stuck with a million needles.'

The bell rang, and Dick flinched, even after a week of attending the school his ears had not yet adjusted to the sound of the bell.

They collected their bags and headed back towards the rest of the school. They paused by Dana's locker where they were going to meet up with the girls.

'Well if it isn't the yellow-eyed freak, still coming to school then freak?' Nelson and his crew circled around them and others in the hall stopped to watch.

'Not in the mood Nash.' Said Dick, for the most part ignoring the taller teen.

'What did you say to me?' Nelson drew closer.

'I said I'm not in the mood to deal with your bull shit.' Dick repeated with more venom.

Dana appeared at Terry's side looking worried.

'Come on Dick, let's get to class.' She said, the look in Dick's eyes was worrying her. It was dark.

Dick seemed to listen and turned away from the boys and began walking with her.

'I'm not finished with you Todd.' Nelson snarled.

'I'm done with you.' Said Dick, his tone now bored.

Nelson looked at his friends, each of them was looking at him to answer back. He couldn't let this kid get away with talking to him like that. He had a reputation to uphold.

'Running away Todd? Just like your Uncle did.'

Dick stopped, and Nelson knew he had hit a nerve.

'Leave it, Nelson.' Said Terry but the bully didn't listen.

'You know I reckon that reporter was right. I reckon your dad had something to do with it, that's why he named you after him, out of guilt.' Nelson smirked. 'Is that why your mom left you and why your so messed up Todd. Did your daddy kill Grayson?'

Dick's attack was so fast Terry had no time to even consider stopping him. His hand gripped around Nelson's shirt and had crashed him into the lockers holding him up so that his feet hovered above the ground.

'Listen to me, Nelson.' Dick said quietly. 'I have dealt with a lot of shit in my life from a lot of people, like you who think they can control and harass me.' His grip tightened, and he pushed the older boy harder into the lockers. 'But the pattern stops here Nelson. You are going to leave me alone or I swear I will realign the bones in your face. Do I make myself clear?'

Nelson looked at him with wide eyes.

'Do I make myself clear?' Dick whispered menacingly.

Nelson nodded like an idiot and Dick dropped him. The bully scrambled off the floor and went back to the safety of his friends and together they backed away. Others in the hall were stunned, not just by the new students' strength but by the fact he actually stood up to Nelson Nash. Some were freaked, others impressed.

'Dude, what the hell?" said Terry, grabbing Dick's arm.

'Mr Todd!' They turned to see the Principle stalking down the hall towards them. 'My office, now!'

Dick sighed, the adrenaline wearing off, he was tired.

'Shit.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

As he had sat on the bench outside the Principal's office, he internally prayed to whatever high power was out there that it would not be Jason who came to pick him up. But he died a little inside when someone worse than Jason appeared.

Bruce looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

'You're really starting to act like his son.' He said, and Dick couldn't help feeling ashamed. He wallowed in that shame while Bruce spoke to the Principle and he followed in silence when Bruce exited the building. They didn't speak in the car until Bruce had pulled into the garage.

'Your Principle said you attacked another student.'

Dick said nothing, staring straight ahead.

'What did he say to you?'

Dick remained silent.

'He must have said something Dick, you're not the type to lash out for no reason.' said Bruce patiently.

'He said that Jason was responsible for Grayson's disappearance…my disappearance.' It was getting harder to think of himself now and the person he was then as one in the same being. 'He said that Jason killed me.'

'Well you know that's not true.' Said Bruce.

'I know, but he's been pecking away at my patience all week. He needed putting back in his place.'

Bruce couldn't contradict Dick's theory, after all, wasn't that what he had done for years as Batman. Bruce knew about the bullying Dick had faced when he was at Gotham Academy, he was Batman of course he knew. He understood that Dick didn't want to go through it again if he didn't have to.

'Jason isn't going to be happy.'

And he wasn't.

'He did what!' Jason's voice could be heard through most of the manor. It was later that day and Terry had come around after school, so he and Dick were in the garage tinkering with the bikes. The first they knew of Jason's return from work was the yelling through the house.

'Richard! Get here now!'

Dick rolled his eyes but went to the living room all the same.

'What's this I hear about you being suspended?' said Jason, he looked livid. 'You've only been there a week they won't let you back for another week.

Dick went back to his tactic of not saying anything, he had said enough to the older man last night.

'You held another student in the air by his neck?'

'By his shirt.' Dick corrected, he wasn't an animal. 'He deserved it.'

'I don't care if he deserved it. Where was your self-control?' Jason shouted. This was the type of thing he would have done when he was a kid, but Dick was better than him, he had always been better than him.

'You wouldn't understand.' Said Dick quietly.

'What wouldn't I understand?'

'I couldn't sit back at let it happen again, ok?' Dick was shouting now, the anger he was feeling towards Jason, towards Nelson, it was all coming to a steady boil.

'You don't know what it's like to be beaten and harassed and tormented every day. To be preyed upon in what is meant to be a safe environment and not have the power to fight back.' Dick was breathing heavy now, coming closer and closer to breaking point.

This threw Jason off. 'What are you talking about?'

'I was bullied every day when we were at Gotham Academy. Jack Willbourne and his friends used to beat me, and I couldn't fight back because I was scared they would recognise me as Robin.' Dick admitted. 'I was not going to feel that weak again Jason. Not after everything else I have been through.' He breathed, running a hand through his hair. 'Yeh, maybe I shouldn't have done what I did but I was already angry because you wouldn't leave me alone.'

'So, this is my fault now?' asked Jason, mad again.

'Yes!' Dick cried. 'I asked you to stop whatever it is you were trying to accomplish in the lab, but you kept pushing. I am not a science experiment!'

'I was trying to protect you!'

'From what? Jason, I am a Talon. There is nothing you can do to change that!'

An expression crossed Jason's face that took Dick a moment to place. It was fear.

'I had to do something.' Jason said.

'What? What has suddenly got you so paranoid!'

'You're barely ageing!' Jason's shout left the whole room in silence. He sighed and repeated the statement with more tact. 'You're barely ageing Dick, if at all. In the last year, your cells haven't matured at all. That's why I did all the tests, to see if there was a way to reverse it.' His expression told them that he had been unsuccessful.

Dick stared at him for a moment and then he laughed. A cold, humourless laugh.

'Bastards.' He whispered under his breath. 'They turned me into the perfect soldier; indestructible and forever young.'

He'd reached it. His breaking point.

He turned on his heel and headed for the library. The others looked to each other unsure whether they should follow.

Dick's mind was in turmoil, his eyes burned with threatening tears and his throat ached with the effort it was taking to hold them back. The Court truly had damned him. A mortal injury had kept him on the brink of death, but his DNA would not allow him to fall into the abyss. His only hope of ending his pain had been that eventually, his body would have worn itself out. It may have taken a little longer, but it would have ended. One day. But the Court had even taken that away from him. They had intended for him to be a permanent fixture in the history of the Court of Owls. He was to be their Gray Son now and forever. That was what Cobb had meant when he said Dick would be a new kind of Talon. This was how he was stronger. He was permanently fixed in a point of time when his body was fresh and strong. He would never age, never grow weak, never die.

He took a shaky intake of breath. At that moment he had never felt so helpless. All he wanted to do was sleep. He let his mind shut down and his body moved of its own accord. He opened the bay windows, without the filters in his ears the pain soon filled them, but it was ignored. Barefoot he headed out into the snow.

He walked and walked, the tears finally falling down his cheeks as the blood from his ears dripped down his neck, soaking into the collar of his T-Shirt. He kept walking, even when his body started to slow down. He walked and walked, the night swallowing him in its dark embrace. Until his muscles gave in to the cold and shut down, bringing him to his knees.

'Dick!'

He could barely hear the voice over the ringing in his ears as the drums healed then burst over and over again.

'Dick!'

A shadow blocked out what little light there was coming from the moon. It came around and sank down to his knees in front of him.

'Leave me alone Dami.' Said Dick. His brother said something, but Dick could hear nothing above the ringing.

Damian reached forward and wiped away some of the tears. Then he hooked his finger under the youngers chin and forced his eyes up so he could read his lips.

'Everything is going to be alright.'

'How is everything going to be alright?' said Dick miserably. 'I just want this all to end, Damian.'

'We will find a way to fix this.' Damian said slowly so that Dick could understand.

'And what if we can't.'

'Then I will kill you myself.'

Dick looked at him stunned.

'I will not let you be left in this world alone Dick,' Damian gripped Dick's chin tightly. 'If we have not cured you by the ending of my lifetime, I will kill you myself.'

Dick took a deep intake of breath, steadying himself. He nodded at Damian. Neither had to voice that this pact was to stay between them.

By the time Damian had carried Dick back through the garden and in through the French doors, Jason had gathered all the blankets from the living room and arranged them on the couch. Once Dick was lowered down, he proceeded to wrap the boy in them along with hot water bottles and heat pads.

'What on earth were you thinking!' Jason hissed.

Dick frowned at him and Jason noticed the blood. He waited a few moments for Dick's hearing to return, by which point he had cooled off a little.

'You had us worried.' He said calmly.

'I'm sorry. I needed to be alone. I needed the world to stop for a moment.'

'And walking out into the snow with no shoes accomplished that did it?' said Jason sarcastically.

'Talon's are built for hibernation. The cold slows down my body and my mind. It stops the racing thoughts if only for a while.' Dick admitted.

Annie entered the room with a mug.

'Here, drink this.' She handed him the tea. 'It will make you feel better.'

Everyone looked at her.

'What? I'm British.'

Dick sipped the liquid quietly and slowly the tension of the room began to dissipate.

'We'll work this out, buddy.' Jason said, 'I want you to come and sleep with me tonight And then on Monday you can go to the office with Annie.'

For the first time since he had been brought back from the garden, Dick looked like he had an opinion.

'I don't need babysitting Jason.'

'We're not babysitting you, it for my own peace of mind.'

'It's not like I'm going to off myself.' Said Dick, taking another sip from his tea. 'Or rather, it's not like I physically can.'

Jason glared at him. Just because Dick couldn't end his life didn't mean he couldn't hurt himself.

'Don't fight me on this.'

Dick shrugged. He was too tired to argue. He just hoped Jason didn't snore.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

 _Darkness was all he could see, he couldn't move and could barely breathe. He reached his hand forward and felt something hard ahead of him. No, above him. He was led down. He felt to his sides and came across the same hard surface. He was trapped._

 _He clawed at it, bashed his fists against it until he could feel blood dripping down his wrists. His throat raw from his screams, his nails ripped and bloody. There was nothing he could do, no one was coming. He was trapped._

Jason woke with a start. He took some deep breaths and found that he could breathe with ease. His eyes adjusted to the dim light and he recognised his room. He breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't had that nightmare in a few years.

He reached to his side, panicking when he felt nothing there. He sat up, searching the room with his eyes but relaxed when he saw Dick curled tightly into a ball on the far side of the bed, deep in sleep.

He rubbed his tired eyes and settled back against the pillows. For a few moments he watched Dick's slow breathing, but he noted the slight frown on the boy's face. Seems he wasn't the only one to be plagued with nightmares tonight. Even in sleep, the poor kid couldn't find peace.

Jason knew he had to do something, he had to find a way to reverse what the talons had done to him. He wouldn't stop until he had figured it out.

 **A/N: Funny story...I've been struggling with how to end this chapter and how to lead into my next plot point. I've been struggling with it for a few days and it has been driving me crazy. This evening I spent 2 hours in the shower, staring into space. I didn't realise until my mum knocked on the door to ask if I was ok, I then realised I'd been so lost in thought about how to finish this chapter that I'd been staring into space for 2 hours! I've never done that for my novel! So yeah...enjoy! Please review! Karin x**


	20. Chapter 20

_20 years ago:_

' _He is strong.'_

' _That he is.' Cobb and his General stood and watched from a distance while the Gray Son trained. He was skilled, growing more skilled every day. In a little under a year, he had mastered most of their weapons and could fight against even some of the highest in their ranks and little by little he was getting closer to winning their duels._

' _I notice he has not yet accessed his full strength?' the General mused._

 _Cobb crossed his large arms over his chest. 'He is still young. His body will remain unchanged, but his mind will mature with experience. When he is ready, he will be able to unlock his full stores of electrum.' A small smirk played on his lips as he watched his Great Grandson spar. Richard was a force to be reckoned with, even with the small amount of electrum that was coursing through his body. He couldn't wait to see how powerful his heir would become once he had unlocked his full potential._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dick knew that Annie worked at Wayne Tech or as it was now called Wayne and Power, but he hadn't realised she played such an important role. Since Bruce was retired, he only ever dealt with the business that was either directly connected to his money or when the founders of the company gathered to discuss and vote on the company's future. After the incident that led to Terry becoming Batman, Bruce had hired Annie to work on his behalf for all of the other business that went on within the company.

Her office was huge, decked out in a way Dick could only describe as 'very Annie.' Everything was organised and had its place in the room, her desk was placed by the window, files neatly organised in a metal cabinet to its side. There was a couch in the room that faced the desk with a coffee table in front of it.

'Wow.' Said Dick, years ago he had gone to Bruce's office on a number of occasions, but he hadn't been expecting Annie to be so high up in the company, she already did so much at home.

'Morning Annie.' A chirpy voice came from the doorway, Dick popped his head over the sofa and saw a small blonde woman in a pencil skirt and large round glasses balancing on her nose.

'Morning Karly.' Said Annie, raising a hand in greeting. She and Dick were currently sat on the sofa with coffee from the coffee shop around the corner.

'Oh, who's this?' Karly leaned back a little upon seeing Dick's eyes.

'This is Dick, Jason's son. He'll be staying with me today.' She raised her coffee mug to indicate to the woman in the doorway. 'Dick, this is Karly, my assistant.'

'Hi.' Said Dick.

'Not at school?' said Karly, obviously fishing for more details as to why this strange boy was in the office.

'I'm on suicide watch.' Said Dick with a smile. Karly looked alarmed.

'Ignore him, Karly. I'll be out in a minute to go over today's schedule.' Once Karly had closed the door Annie glared at her young charge.

'Not necessary.' She said, standing up and throwing her empty coffee cup in the bin.

'What, it's true.' Dick shrugged.

'That's not why you're here.'

'Then why am I here?' said Dick, slumping into the back cushions. 'Why couldn't I stay at the manor on my own?'

Annie smiled at him in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. She walked over to him and leant forward so her face was close to his own.

'You're here because you have been suspended and you are grounded.'

'I'm what?' said Dick. 'I'm 38 years old you can't ground me!'

Annie glared at him again and he knew he'd made a mistake playing that card. The woman took a deep breath and walked back over to her desk, she picked up a pile of papers, a pair of scissors and a cardboard box, bringing them back over and placing them on the coffee table.

'I am going to be in a meeting for most of this morning. You are going to stay here and cut out all of these name tags and put them in the badge holders for next week's conference.'

'But there are hundreds of them.' Dick complained.

'736.'

'Don't you have a machine that can do this?' he said, turning in his seat so he could face her while she went to the door.

'Yep.' She smiled that evil smile at him again and then she was gone.

Dick sighed before standing up and walking around the office. He had thought spending the day with Annie at work was going to be boring but spending the day by himself in Annie's office was even duller. But he had to wonder what the woman was planning. Jason had spent the entire weekend making sure Dick was not alone for long periods of time. Dick wasn't sure what Jason thought he was going to do, he had already gone through the self-harm phase while he was with the owls. Other than finding a way to chop off his own head, he was pretty much indestructible and the thought of beheading himself was not a comforting one.

But whatever Dick would or wouldn't do, Jason was worried and hadn't let Dick out of his sight for long. And now here was Annie, leaving him alone in her office for the entire morning. He was about to consider this some more when he realised the wall in which the door was set, was completely made out of glass. And on the other side of that glass was Karly's desk. Annie's assistant eyed him suspiciously and Dick regretted his earlier comment, this woman wasn't going to take her eyes off him.

Deciding he had nothing better to do, he went back to the couch and started working on the name badges. It was going to be a long day.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Annie stretched her arms above her head and groaned. It had been a very long meeting, as usual, fighting passive aggressively with Powers. Bruce had warned her what Powers would propose and had told Annie to slam the motion down. Which she had. She had never had the chance to meet Derek Powers, the original head of Powers Industries. He had disappeared before her appointment here. But his son was an absolute arse.

She was currently alone in the large boardroom, she knew she needed to get back upstairs to Dick. She had been a little harsh on him, it must be very confusing to be living on the brink of two separate lives. But he was infuriating when he failed to see that what they were doing was for his best interest. She chuckled to herself, she had never wanted kids. Being in the service had taken up all of her time and energy, even when she had moved to the US to look after Alfred her thoughts on the matter hadn't changed. Now she was too busy helping to run not only a company and a household but the background work for vigilantes. And yet here she was, mothering over a 17…18-year-old boy.

'I need a holiday.' She said quietly to herself.

It was then that the door opened, and Karly stood in the doorway looking very pale, tears rolling down her eyes. Annie's first thought went to Dick and his wellbeing, but then Karly walked into the room, a gun pressed to her back and three men followed all holding weapons.

'I'm sorry.' Karly cried.

'What's going on?' said Annie, slowly getting out of her seat.

'You Anastasia Pennyworth?' said one of the men.

'Who wants to know?' she said, already pressing the SOS button in her pocket.

'Answer the question.' The man took his gun from Karly's back, pulling her close to him and pressing the gun at her temple. Karly whimpered, her glasses falling off her face.

'Yes, yes I'm Anastasia Pennyworth.' Said Annie, fear coursing through her for her friend. The man said nothing but looked to the two others and nodded his head. They came towards her.

'It's nothing personal,' one said. 'It's just business.' He pointed his gun at her but before he could fire, she had deflected the gun to the side and brought her knee to his gut, the bullet lodging itself into the oak table. She quickly sent her leg back to push the other man away before he could grab her. He went back with a grunt, giving her enough time to swing around and kick him in the side of the head. She grabbed a throwing knife from one of their belts and threw it towards the third man. He released Karly as he moved out of the way. The blonde ran to the door, Annie went to follow but one of the other men grabbed her ankle and she fell to the floor.

Gunfire went off and she heard a thud, she looked up to see blood spattered on the cream walls and Karly lying face down on the floor, blood pooling under her head.

Annie kicked back again, her heel hitting the man on her ankle in the face. She then rolled, grabbing a gun from the floor and regaining her footing. She pointed the gun at them, each one in turn.

'Drop it.' Said the man who had killed Karly. The other two got up off the floor. She held the gun steady, hating the fact that she was in the only room in the entire building that didn't have glass panelling. Damn Powers for booking this room.

And then it clicked. That was why he had booked this room, that was why he had left the meeting in such a hurry.

'You work for Powers.' She said, and the men laughed, confirming her theory.

'That's not going to do you much good now.'

Annie smirked. 'You chose the wrong Brit to mess with.' She fired the gun at the wall, hitting her target and setting off the fire alarm throughout the building. The emergency services would be there soon, and since they were a large company the police would arrive too.

Now she just had to stay alive until they arrived.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dick clicked his back and neck. He had been working solidly for several hours. Time to take a break. Once again, he stood and walked around the office, stretching his legs. As he walked passed the door, he noticed that Karly was missing. Curious he went out and stood by her desk, looking down the corridor to see if she was there. Someone he didn't recognise walked passed.

'Sorry to bother you. Do you know where Karly is?' he asked the woman. She didn't look confused as to who he was, so he guessed his presence was office gossip.

'She went down to reception, there were some men to see Annie.' She looked at the desk and frowned. 'That was a while ago though.'

Dick thanked her and walked back to the office door, but he didn't go in. There was something wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it. Karly had been watching him like a hawk all morning, he was sure Annie had tasked her with that duty. So why leave him for so long. If she had gone to take Annie a message, then surely it would have been a quick task. And where was Annie? She had said she was in a meeting all morning, but it was nearly three.

He walked over to Karly's desk and had hacked into her computer in moments. He brought up her calendar and found where Annie was holding the meeting. He then brought up a map of the building and found where the room was situated.

His theory of office gossip was confirmed as he walked through the building. People saw him, stared and whispered but no one stopped him or questioned him on who he was. Suddenly the building was filled with an ear-piercing ringing, even with his sound filters, they hurt Dick's ears. People started to get up, looking around alarmed. This was not a planned drill.

Something was definitely wrong. Ignoring everyone else, he picked up his pace down the corridor and towards the boardroom. It was separate from the rest of the building, remnants from the original building built when Thomas Wayne was in charge of the company. When he reached the door, he could smell blood, lots of it.

'Annie?' he called, he could barely hear himself over the alarm. He touched the door handle and pushed it down. The door met some resistance, but he pushed through it. He slowly entered the room, eyes wide as he realised the resistance from the door was caused by Karly's body.

A scuffle in the room caused him to look up and he saw Annie being held by two men with blood on their faces. It looked like Annie had put up one hell of a fight and was still struggling against them. The door slammed behind him and he was grabbed.

'What do we have here?'

'Let him go!' Annie cried, fighting against the two men harder.

A shot rang out, the sound disoriented Dick for a moment. He watched as Annie stared ahead, eyes wide. When the two men released her arms, she fell to the ground.

Dick felt his heart beating in his chest, it felt almost painful. He slammed his head back, the back of his head meeting the cartilage of the man's nose. He was released and he dived towards Annie, pulling her onto his lap. She was alive, breathing heavily, blood on her lips. The bullet had entered through her abdomen, blood was coating her shirt in a growing stain.

'Dick.' She breathed.

'Shh, I'm here. It's going to be alright.' He took her hand and forced her to push down on her wound. 'Keep the pressure on it. You're going to be fine.'

The beating of his heart was becoming harder and more painful, something was building inside of him along with his anger.

'Dick.' She breathed again 'Powers hired them. Don't let them…get away.'

The men laughed.

'You've signed his death warrant you stupid bitch.' He clicked the safety off his gun and pointed it at Dick's chest. Dick ignored him.

'Stay awake Annie. Anastasia, do you hear me. Stay awake.' He brushed some of her hair from her face, accidentally smearing blood on her forehead. Despite his pleas, she went limp in his arms.

Dick shook with anger. How dare they. How fucking dare, they hurt Annie. The beating in his chest intensified, he barely noticed the bullet enter his shoulder. All he felt was a rush of heat as the electrum pushed it from his body.

'What the hell!' the man stood back.

Dick slowly lowered Annie to the ground and stood.

'What the heck are you?'

He looked up, small black veins bleeding from yellow eyes. He looked at them each, in turn, seeing the horror on their faces. It made him feel…excited.

One of the men fired at him again but he dodged, closing the distance between them and disarming him in seconds. He grabbed the man's arm and bent it to the side, breaking it. When the man sank to the ground, Dick grabbed the back of his head and brought it to his raised knee, knocking the man out. He turned to the others.

'Who's next?'

Another man ran at him, a knife in his hands. Dick caught his hand and brought the knife down to his attackers' own thigh, then he brought his elbow up, connecting it to the man's chin, sending his head back. He then threw the man across the room.

When he turned to the last man standing the adrenaline coursing through his veins was like nothing he had ever felt before. He felt powerful, angry and excited all at the same time. He walked towards the man, ignoring the bullets that were fired at him. He knew his body would heal them and the pain of the electrum wasn't bothering him right now. He crossed the distance and grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him up and slamming him against the wall. This was the man who had shot Annie and he dared guess killed Karley as well.

The man choked and clawed and kicked.

'What the hell are you?' He choked.

'I'm Frankenstein's monster.' Dick grinned and began to squeeze. But before the man could draw his last breath, Dick was pushed to the side. When he crashed to the floor he fought back.

'Dick stop, it's me.' Batman was using all of the strength in the suit to keep the boy on the ground.

Dick glared up at him, eyes hard. But then he seemed to realise where he was and who was on top of him. His expression softened and the black veins around his eyes disappeared.

'Annie.' He whispered. Batman released him and ran over to Annie, holding his hand down on her wound and his fingers to her neck.

'She's alive.' He stated, looking back to Dick. The Talon had backed himself against the wall, staring down at his hands that were covered in blood. He had been about to kill that man…he had been enjoying it.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Annie was rushed to the hospital; the men were arrested, and Karly's body was removed. But none of the police could coax Dick from his place on the floor.

'Poor kid.' Said an officer to Commissioner Gordon. 'Bats said the kid saw the whole thing.'

Barbra looked over at the boy who had once been her best friend, even she hadn't been able to get him to leave. He had stared into space, not moving and barely breathing. He was lost in his own world and she was pretty sure he hadn't even heard them. But she didn't want anyone to move him. She didn't know what would set him off and she didn't want any of her officers injured.

'Let me through!' To her side, Jason was fighting to get through the police tape. 'That's my son, let me through!'

'Let him through.' She called, and Jason dived under the tape and ran towards her.

'Where is he?'

She nodded her head to the corner of the room. 'He hasn't spoken. Batman said he witnessed everything.' She lowered her voice. 'Between you and I, Batman got here in the nick of time.'

Jason walked over to Dick, he was covered in blood.

'Dick?'

The familiar voice finally broke through to him and Dick looked up.

'Annie?'

'She's at the hospital, the doctors have her in surgery, but they think she is going to be alright.' Jason knelt down in front of him.

Dick nodded and continued to nod while his eyes welled up and tears flowed down his cheeks mixing with the blood. He lurched forward into Jason's arms.

'I felt it.' He whispered.

'Felt what?'

'For the first time, I felt like what they made me.' He gripped Jason's shirt, his voice barely a whisper. 'I felt like the Talon.'

 **A/N I'm on a role. I swear I am heading in a direction and each chapter is leading to the main plot. I'm not just torturing the poor kid! Remember at the beginning Bruce said it would be easier if Dick had died? Well, he was right...because they I couldn't get my hands on him mwahahaha. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review! Karin x**


	21. Chapter 21

With Annie in the hospital, Bruce handling Wayne Tech and Damian handling the police, Dick was pretty much left to his own devices over the course of the next week.

Once he knew Annie was going to be ok, he had turned his focus onto the turmoil in his mind. He felt different, hyper-aware of his body. He healed faster and could control his heightened senses more easily, turning them in and out when needed. He was stronger, but also more controlled. But that was what had scared him the most, he had been perfectly aware of what he was doing to the man who had shot Annie, he knew that he was squeezing the life out of him. But he hadn't cared. Terry said to him it looked like he had lost control. But he hadn't, at that moment he had forgone the rules of the Bat, the morals that he had been taught growing up. He had been the Talon, he had been prepared to kill, to complete the mission.

Dick gripped his hands into fists. The mission had been to protect Annie or avenge her. Even now, as he thought about Annie lying so still on the floor covered in her own blood, Dick knew he would do it again.

'You alright Buddy?'

'I'm fine.'

Jason stood awkwardly in the door to his room then went to leave.

'Jay?' Dick called, when the man came back, he bowed his head. 'I'm sorry.'

'For what?'

'Being a brat.'

Jason chuckled and came and sat on the window seat next to him.

'Dick, if anyone deserves a free pass for being a brat occasionally, it's you.' Jason's face turned serious and he began kneading his hands in his lap. 'But I think you need to make a decision.'

Dick raised an eyebrow, what decision did he need to make?

'You need to decide which life you are going to hang on to. This life, as Richard Todd, with me as your father, going to school, making friends, being a normal 18-year-old for as long as you can. Or,' he turned to face him. 'You can hang on to your old life, as Richard Grayson (Dick flinched), accept what has happened to you and pull away from the world and hide.'

Dick frowned, what kind of a choice was that?

'Those are your options, Dick. At the moment you are trying to hang on to both and I can see it's dragging you down.'

'You're talking about Nelson.'

'I'm talking about you acting as though neither Richard Todd or Richard Grayson is you.' Said Jason. 'Dick you act like you are a ghost. Neither one or the other. Decide on your life and commit to it.'

Dick shook his head. If only it were that easy.

'There's the little problem of my ageing.' He said.

'We're working on it.' Said Jason, 'We have all the tech from the Justice League at our disposal. We'll find a way to reverse it, or at least speed it up a bit.'

'And what if you can't?'

'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.' Jason reached forward and placed his hand on Dick's shoulder, squeezing it. 'It's up to you Dick, I'm just happy I've got you back in my life. Whether that's as your brother or as your father.'

Dick noticed the bags that were starting to crawl under Jason's eyes. The man was working so hard, he looked so stressed and Dick had to wonder if the man was sleeping. The few nights he slept in Jason's bed, the older man had tossed and turned the whole night. Dick had to wonder if it was worrying about him that was causing Jason so much stress.

'Do you want to go and see Annie?' Jason almost laughed at how fast Dick reacted, the kid was up from his seat and grabbing his coat in seconds. In the last week, Annie had been in the ICU and they hadn't let many people visit so Bruce had gone in every day. Dick hadn't been able to see her since she was bleeding out on the floor.

'I'll take that as a yes.' Jason chuckled, following Dick out of the door.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Annie was sore. Thanks to the amount of morphine coursing through her system she wasn't in pain, but she was still sore. The doctors had told her she had a guardian angel. Somehow the bullet hadn't caused too much internal damage, and due to how she had been placed after being shot, she hadn't suffered a fatal amount of blood loss. She'd almost cried upon hearing this because it had been Dick who had come to her rescue.

Apparently, all three men had been apprehended by Batman and Gordon had arrested them. They would be charged for her attempted murder and the murder of Karly. Poor, poor Karly.

She was led, pondering the loss of her friend. She would need to contact Karly's family once she was out of the hospital.

A knock on the door brought her from her thoughts and she smiled as Jason popped his head around the door.

'Evening Sleeping Beauty.' He grinned, 'You feeling up to having a couple of visitors?'

'Always.' She said, and Jason came fully into the room, followed slowly by a nervous looking Dick. Once he saw her, Dick looked like he either wanted to cry or scream. He looked broken.

'Hey hey hey. What's all this?' she said, hating how weak her voice still sounded.

'I'm sorry.' Said Dick, 'I should have gotten there sooner, or reacted faster.'

Annie opened her arms and told him to come to her. He gingerly came over to the bed and ever so gently sat beside her, resting his head on her shoulder and avoiding her wound. Annie wrapped her arms around him.

'You are not to blame for this.' She said, 'You saved me. You stopped them from finishing the job.' She kissed the top of his head, Bruce had told her that the three men all suffered from several injuries, but they would all live long lives, in prison. 'I am so proud of you.' She whispered.

'I finished all the badges.' Dick mumbled.

'What?' said Annie.

'I finished all the name badges.'

Annie chuckled, looking up at Jason who was smiling down at them. Dick may be 18, but thanks to the electrum he still had the slim build of a 16-year-old. But this meant he could easily fit onto the bed and rest comfortably in the nook of Annie's arms. It was uncanny how much they looked like mother and son at that moment.

Dick stayed wrapped in Annie's arms for the entire time they were there. Annie didn't seem to want to let him go and Dick didn't mind, it felt nice to be held like this. When it was time to go, Annie gripped him tighter, kissing the top of his head again.

'I love you.' She said into his hair.

'I love you too.' Said Dick, getting up off the bed.

They left Annie to sleep and Dick slowly followed Jason through the halls of the hospital. While he walked, he thought. He had so many people in his life who were trying so hard to help him. People who had seen what he had become and loved him anyway. If he held onto the person he used to be, he would need to turn his back on them. There would be no way he could stay at the manor and live with them if he stayed as Richard Grayson. He didn't want to give up his family, he didn't want to give up hope that he could live a normal life. He didn't know what had happened to him after Annie had been shot, but for some reason, he now felt more in control of his Talon abilities. His electrum had always felt so unstable, but suddenly it seemed his body was more balanced. He was under no illusion that he was still dangerous, maybe more so now. But he no longer felt like he was going to lose control if he let go of his emotions. This in itself gave him hope.

'You coming?'

Dick hadn't realised he'd stopped walking. Jason was looking back at him with concern. Dick ran to catch up to him. 'Are you alright?'

'Yeh, I'm fine.' Said Dick, he took a deep breath knowing his next words were going to cement his decision. 'Dad, can we come to see Annie again tomorrow?'

Jason looked down at the kid in shock and then he smiled, ruffling the kid's hair and putting his arm around his shoulder.

'Of course.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'There's something different about you?' said Max, eyeing him up. 'Did they brainwash you or something?'

Dick grinned at her, he was finally back at school and it was lunchtime.

'I don't know what you're talking about.' He said.

'You always seemed so reserved, like you were scared to completely enjoy yourself.' Said Max. 'But today you seem relaxed, and dare I say normal.'

Dick laughed a proper laugh that forced Max to smile.

'Thanks,' he said sarcastically, 'Does that mean I'm not normal.'

'No Todd, you are far from normal.'

Dick smiled at her. 'Nearly getting shot will put things into perspective for you.'

'Oh god, yeh!' said Dana. 'How is Annie?'

'She's fine. She's home now but can't do much but sit on the couch.' Finally, the Bat-family was able to take care of the person who had spent the last few years endlessly taking care of them.

'She was lucky Batman got there in time.' Mused Dana.

Dick glanced at Terry quickly, but the other teen wasn't looking at him. Terry hadn't properly spoken to Dick since the shooting.

'Well, it's nice to see you happy.' Said Max, deciding to change the conversation. They chatted for a while longer until the bell finally rang. As they were heading back, Dick took hold of Terry's arm and held him back.

'Can I talk to you?' he said.

Terry nodded, and they slipped into an empty classroom.

'What's the problem?' asked Dick.

'What do you mean?'

'You've barely looked at me for days. What's wrong?' Dick crossed his arms over his chest. Terry narrowed his eyes and then sighed.

'I saw your eyes, at Wayne and Powers. They were different, you had black veins around them and you looked murderous.' Terry admitted.

'Someone had just shot a member of my family, of course, I was murderous.' Dick hissed.

'But what happened to your eyes?'

Dick shrugged. 'I don't know. But ever since the shooting I've felt different.'

'Different how?'

'I dunno. More stable, I guess. I think the levels of electrum in my blood have finally balanced themselves out.' It was hard to explain, he didn't really understand it himself, but he had a feeling when he was first turned, there had been a cap on his powers, maybe to teach him control. Now that the cap was gone, he had the full power of a Talon, but thanks to his family he had kept the one thing that separated him from the other Talon's. His humanity.

'So, you're not going to go all Victor Frankenstein on me?' said Terry, he had heard what Dick had said to the shooter. "I'm Frankenstein's monster."

'Victor Frankenstein was the creator, not the monster.' Said Dick.

'You know what I mean.'

'No, for the first time in a very long time I think I'm actually ok.'

Terry slapped his arm in a kind gesture. 'Glad to hear it. We better get to class.'

They walked together to the lesson that was quickly becoming Dick's favourite.

'Good morning Mr McGinnis, Mr Todd nice to have you back.' Said Mr Willbourne as they took their seats. They were learning about a book Dick hadn't read yet, so the lesson was actually interesting to him. He wrote down notes about the book, feeling excited about learning something new and happy in his new life. His family was safe, his friends were great, his new father figure was working on a way to let him age and everything seemed to be finally sorting itself out.

He smiled to himself as his neat handwriting filled the page. Then his next word was blocked by a circle of red.

He frowned as another red dot appeared on the page, and then another. He touched the red and it smeared on the white background. Blood.

He brought his hand to his nose and felt wetness, bringing his hand away he saw more of the crimson fluid.

His nose was bleeding. Why was his nose bleeding?

'Dick are you alright?' Willbourne had stopped the class and everyone was looking at him.

'I'm fine, I'll just go clean myself up.' He stood from his seat and headed to the door. Accepting the tissue that Dana handed him as he passed her.

Out in the halls, he hurried to the bathroom still holding the tissue to his nose. He entered the toilet and went straight to the mirror over the sinks, using water to wash away the blood that was still coming.

He took deep breaths and focused on this area of injury and then he saw what Terry had seen. The veins spread around his eyes as a rush of electrum healed the issue with his nose. Once the blood stopped his eyes returned to normal. The whole process only taking a matter of seconds.

Clearing up the rest of the blood he calmed down his thoughts. It was just a nosebleed, probably just his body adjusting to the electrum. Or stress, stress can cause nosebleeds. He was alright, he was fine. Right?

 **A/N Hands up how many of you thought this was going to be a happy ending ;) sorry, not yet. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm heading back to work on Monday so not sure when I will next update, but hopefully, it will be pretty soon. Please review! Karinx**


	22. Chapter 22

Dick stared up at the ceiling, tracing the swirls in the paint with his eyes. He should have known Terry would eventually tell Jason about his eyes which eventually led to Dick telling him about his nose bleed. So now he was led on a bed in the cave, once again having his blood drawn.

'You're done.' Said Jason, sticking surgical tape down on his forearm.

Dick didn't get up, instead, he rolled over onto his side and watched as Jason rolled himself (and his blood) over to the equipment. They sat in comfortable silence while Jason worked.

'Well, you were right.' He said after some time, 'The levels of electrum in your blood have doubled.' Jason held two pieces of paper together. 'In fact, the levels in your blood are higher than any of the other Talon's we tested.'

'What does that mean?' Dick asked, finally sitting up.

'It means you've got more firepower than even Cobb had.'

Dick couldn't help feeling a little happy about that, he would have loved to have sparred with his great-grandfather and actually won.

'But as you said, it seems to have stabled everything else. And since you're not a mindless zombie out to kill everyone, I'm not overly concerned.' Said Jason. 'Just don't go getting into any more fights.'

Dick looked sheepish.

'We'll keep going with your training if nothing else it will help you keep in control and burn off some of your excess energy.' He and Jason had started training in the gym after school every few days and on Sundays, they went for a run. Dick seemed to constantly have energy to burn off, at least now Jason knew why.

'What about the virus?' Dick asked quietly, that had been a worry in the back of his mind since he had seen the blood dripping onto his page.

'Results are negative.' Jason walked over to him and pulled him onto his feet. 'You're fine Dick, stop worrying. Trust me, I do enough of that for the both of us.'

He ruffled Dick's hair, a gesture that was becoming a comfort for both parties. 'Come on, we better get back before Annie works herself to death.'

As predicted, when they returned to the manor Annie was in the process of making her way to the kitchen.

'What are you doing?' asked Jason as he and Dick ran to her aid. 'You're not meant to be moving around yet.'

"Ace needed to be let out.' She said, accepting both their arms so they could walk her to the large window seat in the kitchen. Ace was by the back door wanting to be let out. Dick opened the door and the dog ran out into the side garden.

Annie leant against the window, exhausted.

'You are a terrible patient.' Said, Jason, as he handed her a mug of tea. She took a sip and grimaced. 'And you make terrible tea.'

'Sorry, I'm more of a coffee person.'

'No, you're coffee tastes awful too.' Said Dick, coming back over to sit by Annie.

'Well, if my kitchen skills are so bad, I guess you don't want any of my home-made pizza.' Said Jason, shrugging and turning away from them.

'No, no, no we're sorry.' They said together hurriedly, pleading with the man to reconsider.

Jason got the ingredients out and began making the dough for the pizza while Dick came and helped him chop the toppings into small pieces.

'Your cutting those too small.' Said Jason.

'No, I'm not. You need glasses, old man.'

'Old man huh?' Jason threw some flour in his sons' direction and it hit the side of his head. Dick looked at him in shock, then collected a handful of shredded cheese and threw it at the elder.

'Oh god,' Annie sighed, leaning back and sipping her tea. 'I am not cleaning this up.'

The food fight proceeded until both males were covered in flour and Ace was walking around the kitchen eating the fallen cheese.

'What the hell?' Damian stared at the sight. His older brother and 'nephew' were covered in white powder, the kitchen was covered in fallen pizza toppings, although Ace was on the case, and Annie was sat in the window seat watching the chaos unfold.

Both men looked at him, looked at each other then threw flour in his direction. Damian dived behind the door.

'Don't you dare! I've already ruined one suit in this kitchen.'

'At least it's only flour and not blood.' Said Annie.

'Shut up Pennyworth.'

'I don't know why you are getting so worked up Dami, I'm the one who had to dispose of it.'

'I still can't believe I had to throw away a 700-dollar suit.' Dami muttered, still hiding behind the door.

'Well, I wasn't about to explain those stains to the dry cleaner.' Annie said flatly.

Jason held up his hands in surrender. 'Ok, that's enough. I suggest you go and have a shower.' He said to Dick.

Dick chuckled as he left the kitchen, more so when Damian took a step back as he walked passed him.

Once Dick was up the stairs, Damian entered the kitchen.

'How is he?' he said.

'Dick?'

'No, Oprah. Of course, Dick.' Said Damian sarcastically, he'd obviously had a long day at work.

'He's fine.' Said Jason, cleaning the counters. 'His theory about his electrum was right, but it seems to have done him more good than anything else. He's in perfect health.'

'And the nosebleed?' asked Annie.

'My theory, it was a small reaction to the change in electrum levels. Either that or it was just a nosebleed.'

'How's the project coming along.' Asked Annie, they only really like to talk about Jason's work to reverse Dick's DNA when said Talon wasn't present. Even then, they referred to it as Jason's 'Project' just in case he was within hearing distance.

'I think I'm getting somewhere.' Said Jason, placing the pizza into the oven. 'But I don't want to test it just yet, Dick finally seems to be settling.'

'He does seem a lot happier.' Said Damian, his fingers rubbing Ace's soft ear. 'I think Annie's shooting shook him a little.'

'Glad to be of service.' Annie joked. The shooting had been a terrible experience, but she had to agree that since the event there had been a change in Dick. He seemed more present, he acted like a teenager pretty much all the time now rather than just putting the persona on like a mask for the outside world. He was back at school and from what Terry said he was doing well. He and Jason had been spending more time together, when they came back from their Sunday runs, they were always laughing (Jason a lot more out of breath than Dick).

To hear that Dick was more stable not just mentally but biologically was music to her ears.

'Keep me posted on if you need anything.' Said Damian.

The front door closed and a few moments later both Bruce and Tim entered the kitchen.

'Something smells good.' Said Tim.

'I'm making pizza.' Said Jason, glad that he had cleaned away all the mess he and Dick had made before Bruce came home. The older man looked exhausted. With Annie out of action, he was picking up a lot more hours at the office, something he hadn't had to do since he retired.

'You look tired.' Said Annie.

'I feel old.' Said Bruce. 'I've spoken to Gordon, she says they can't currently find enough evidence to support the allegation that the men who attacked you were working for Powers. He covered his tracks well.'

'I had a feeling he might.' Said Annie, she looked frustrated but not shocked.

'Shall I see if Terry can find anything?' said Damian.

'Maybe, let's stay out of Gordon's way for now.'

Upstairs Dick was enjoying the sensation of the hot water on his face. He had long since washed the flour from his hair, but he didn't feel like getting out of the shower just yet. But when he heard the front door close, he knew he had to get out. He turned off the water and reached for a towel only to meet air. Wiping the water from his eyes he looked out of the shower and saw his towel had slipped and was lying on the floor a little out of reach. A dilemma, his body was still pretty sensitive to changes in temperature and getting out of the shower was never a pleasant experience even with the warmth of a towel. Maybe he could reach it.

Holding onto the frame of the shower door he stretched as far as he could to reach the fallen fabric, his fingers just about brushed against the warm fuzz. He stretched out a little further, the cold making his skin prickle uncomfortably. Suddenly, his feet slipped from under him and he fell forward, pain shot through his shins as they smashed against the edge of the shower and his hand sliced down the door frame cutting open his palm. Thankfully, his face fell into the softness of his towel, but he hissed, and he cradled his injured hand to his chest and held his shin with his other. For one of the world's most dangerous predators, he was one hell of a klutz.

'Dick?' A call came from down the stairs. 'You alright? What was that bang?'

'I'm fine.' Dick called. He looked at his hand waiting for the cut to seal up, but it didn't heal. 'Odd.'

He focused his thoughts onto the cut and the rush of electrum flooded the palm of his hand. The black veins crept from his eyes ever so slightly. The wound healed. For some reason his body had decided the cut on his hand was not a priority. Which normally meant it was either busy fuelling the muscles for particularly strenuous combat or it was already healing something more serious. Dick shrugged, maybe the levels of electrum were still settling.

He didn't bother to heal his shins; the pain was already ebbing away on its own. Once he was dressed, he went downstairs, he would tell Jason about the cut later, right now he wanted pizza.

He sat in the window seat with Annie, munching on Jason's famous pizza and enjoying the conversation with his whole family. They joked and reminisced. Dick relaxed, leaning his shoulder against Annie's. He didn't know what the future held for him. But right now, his life was good.

 **A/N A few of you were saying the story was getting a little dark. So here is a fluffy chapter to break it up a bit. Please review. Karin x**


	23. Chapter 23

It was four weeks before Annie was able to get out and about again, by this point she had noticed that more often than not she had a little shadow by her side, helping her and making sure she was safe when she left the house or did anything remotely strenuous. Dick had been subtle at first but once she had started going back outside and out into public, his subtlety faded, and his protectiveness became more evident.

She didn't really mind since he never got in her way or stopped her doing anything, he was just a comforting presence to keep her company and it settled the niggling anxiety she often felt upon hearing loud sounds or when she thought she saw something in the corner of her eye.

They were currently slowly making their way through the mall. She had been meaning to run a few errands for a while and now she could walk more comfortably for longer periods it felt good to finally get them done.

Dick walked by her side matching her pace. She had objected to him coming at first, it was Saturday and he should be out with his friends, but Dick wouldn't hear of it. After Tim dropped them off, Dick followed her around and chatted with her, carried her bags and stopped whenever she needed a breather. They were nearly finished, and Dick's arms were laden down with bags full of odd bits and pieces for the house, things for Ace and other general items. With his accelerated strength he was barely breaking a sweat.

'Annie?'

They both looked around to see an older woman walking over to them.

'Debbie, hi!' said Annie, greeting the woman with a smile. The woman regarded her with a warm look.

'It's so lovely to see you back on your feet.' The woman exclaimed. 'We've all been so worried about you in the office.'

'Thank you, Deb. Yes, trying to get out as much as I can, slowly build my strength back up with my little helper.'

For the first time, the woman regarded Dick, her smiled brightened.

'What a helpful son you have.' She said, beaming at Dick with all the bags in his arms and Annie's handbag on his shoulder.

Dick glanced at Annie to see her reaction to the woman's words. It was one thing him considering this woman to be like his mother…not that he had told her that. It was another for someone to outright mistake it. But Annie just smiled.

'He's a good kid.'

'Will you be back to work any time soon?'

'I'm hoping to be back by the end of the month, I worked from home most of the week anyway, so thankfully it shouldn't be too hard to get back to it.'

'Well, you make sure you take care of yourself. And you take care of her.' She nodded to Dick who smiled awkwardly.

When the woman was out of earshot Annie looked to Dick.

'Do I really look old enough to have an 18-year-old son?' She genuinely looked distressed.

'I wouldn't worry too much. I look about 12.' Dick shrugged.

'You don't look that young…maybe 15 at the youngest.'

'Thanks.' Dick laughed. 'Anyway, you didn't correct her.'

'No, I didn't.' she said. 'Debs one of the oldest workers at Wayne and Powers, come Monday she would have forgotten she'd seen us at all. Besides,' Annie shrugged one of her shoulders. 'It's not like I don't see you that way anyway.'

She stopped and looked at him. 'Is that too weird? I'm sorry, should I have corrected her?' She bumbled over her words.

'No, it's not weird.' Said Dick with a grin. 'Well as long as you don't think about it too hard.'

'You don't mind?'

'Why would I mind?' asked Dick. 'You've pretty much taken on the role of my mother. I kind of see you that way too.' Dick admitted.

The distressed look disappeared, and Annie beamed.

'Well in that case, it's worth people thinking I'm old.'

'You are not old.' Dick chuckled, they started walking towards where Tim was collecting them.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

With Annie still out of the picture, Terry had started picking Dick up for school in the mornings and taking him home after school. It wasn't the perfect arrangement, but until Dick's parking permit was accepted with the school board, they were making do. For the most part, it was a couple of hours in the day that Dick and Terry could spend with just the two of them and they could discuss the inner workings of the Bat family and Batman.

They were on their way home, Terry kept glancing up into his rear-view mirror. He seemed on edge.

'What's wrong?' asked Dick, turning his head a little to glance behind them.

'The car behind is following us.' Said Terry.

'Are you sure?'

'Oh yeh.'

They drove on for a few more minutes, Dick watching the car in the side mirror. They turned onto a more disused street and sure enough, the car followed them at a distance.

'Yep, you're right.' Said Dick. The car continued to follow as they made a few more random turns. 'Who do you think it is?'

'I don't know. If I was driving Bruce, I would say it was the press.' Said Terry. But he wasn't driving Bruce, he was driving Dick. The grandson of a Billionaire was a gold nugget to ransom.

Dick could guess what Terry was thinking. How many times had he been kidnapped in the early days of being Bruce's ward, but Batman had always come to save him…well almost always. The thought left a sour taste in his mouth.

They were on a quieter road now, too quiet. The car behind them began to speed up until the front of their bonnet hit Terry's bumper.

'Are you kidding me!' cried Terry. He sped up to try and put some distance between the two vehicles. But the car caught up, colliding their bumpers once again, but this time harder.

Dick lurched forward as they connected, he rested his hand against the dashboard to steady himself.

'Terry, these guys aren't messing around.' Said Dick, he could see the car trying to push them off the road and it was currently trying to draw up next to Terry's side of the car, taking advantage of the quiet road in the opposite direction.

Terry gripped the steering wheel. This was why he preferred the Batwing, flying in the air was a lot easier in situations like this than driving. Even riding a motorcycle was easier to manoeuvre! He needed to get out of here, if they crashed, he didn't like to think about what would happen if these guys tried to capture Dick. It would not be good…for them.

'Terry, take the next right.' Said Dick.

'Are you kidding?' said Terry, 'Those are the old roads!' The old roads led to the edge of the city. The had been abandoned when the new roads had been built higher above the city. They hadn't been managed which made them very dangerous to drive on, especially if you didn't know where you were going, and Terry didn't.

'Trust me.' Said Dick.

Terry shook his head but at the very last second, he swerved and entered the slip road that took them down to the long-forgotten roads of Gotham City.

'Dick, this is not a good idea, I have no idea what's down here. We'll be sitting ducks if we get stuck.'

'Then let me drive.' Said Dick.

After a moment's hesitation, Terry gave in and they swapped places with a practised ease. Dick settled into the seat, his eyes flicking to the rear-view mirror. The other car had somehow turned and managed to follow them down the slip.

'Put your belt on.' Said Dick, he flicked a switched on the dash and the gears on the car became manual (I believe in America this is known as driving a stick…I might be wrong). Terry gave him a funny look.

'You do not want to be down here without control of your gears.' Said Dick matter-of-factly. 'Call Gordon.'

He drove faster, taking advantage of the straight bit of road before them, he hoped that his pursuers didn't know what was coming up ahead.

'Gordon it's Terry.'

' _Terry? What's wrong?'_

Even with his sound filters, Dick could hear Bab's voice clear over the phone.

'I was being followed on my way back to the manor, they are now pursuing us and trying to force us off the road. I think they're after Dick.' Terry said.

' _You're with Dick?'_ asked Babs, instantly her mind went to the same conclusion as Terry's. The most likely reason for going after Dick was to hold him for ransom. ' _Where are you?'_

'We're on the old roads.'

There was a moment's pause.

' _Terry, see if you can follow the roads to the edge of the river by Alberts Dock, I'll have a team meet you there.'_

Terry turned to Dick. 'Did you get that? Dick nodded.

' _Is Dick driving?'_

'Yeh thought it would be safer.' Said Terry, usually he hated admitting that he wasn't confident at doing something, but in this instance, he didn't feel that way. They were in danger of crashing and these roads were part of an old world, an old world that Dick had once had an active role in.

On the other end of the phone, Babs chuckled lightly.

' _Hang on to something Terry.'_

Terry had only a moment to wonder why she sounded so amused before the car lurched to the side as Dick tried to avoid being hit by the other car.

Dick grinned. 'My turn.' As the assailant's car came at them again, Dick threw on the hand brake. Their car instantly came to a stop, sending Terry forward in his seat, his belt digging into his chest. The other car swerved dangerously close to the edge. Dick put the car back into gear and hurried around them before they could right themselves. But they were soon being pursued again.

Then there was a shot.

'Are they firing at us?' cried Terry.

'They're trying to take out our tires.' Said Dick, gripping the wheel with one hand and the gear stick with the other. 'Hang on.'

He quickly swerved the car down another smaller road, he had to get out of their firing range. Suddenly they were met with a road that was more holes than concrete.

Terry braced himself, expecting the car to fall out of Dick's control and roll into the ditch on either side. But Dick gripped the wheel tighter and manoeuvred around the worst of the holes.

'How far till the dock?' asked Terry.

'Five minutes, give or take.' He turned the car sharply to the left as they were suddenly met with a dead end. Terry fell into the door heavily.

'I can see why they built new roads. These are lethal.'

Dick said nothing as he concentrated on avoiding potholes, bullets and large stones in the road all while trying to navigate his way around the maze of tight corners and dead ends. Finally, the dock came into view.

'Where the hell is Gordon and her guys?' said Terry.

As they pulled into the dock one of the bullets finally hit one of their tires. The car lurched but Dick held it steady, turning the wheel and throwing on the break so that the car span in a controlled circle and came to a stop.

'Get out.' Said Dick, pointing to the door on Terry's side of the vehicle. Terry had gone white and didn't react. Dick rolled his eyes, leant over and opened the door, he pushed Terry until the man ducked out, and then followed him out. They crouched down behind the car.

'You ok?' asked Dick.

'Where the hell did you learn to drive like that?' said Terry.

'You forget who I used to be.' Dick grinned.

Another shot hit the side of the car and they both ducked.

'Who the hell are these guys?' said Terry.

Dick took one of his sound filters from his ear, wincing when the white noise first hit his eardrums. He focused on the sound and pinpointed what sounds he wanted to hear, a skill he had been perfecting over the last few weeks.

'They're not in the car.' One of their assailants said.

'They're around here somewhere. Remember, we need the kid unharmed.'

'What about the other one?'

'Powers don't give a shit about the other one.'

Dick frowned, putting the filter back in. These guys worked for Powers, the man who had attempted to kill Annie.

'Are we going to have to fight these guys?' asked Terry, he wasn't worried about Dick, but he didn't really want to fight an unknown number of men with guns while he was unarmed and not suited up.

Dick shook his head; these guys had no worries about killing Terry. He wasn't about to put his friend in harm's way.

'Stay here.' He said, edging towards the end of the car.

'Where are you going?' Terry hissed.

Dick stood and walked around the car with his hands in the air. He wanted to see what he was working with. There were three men, all of them wearing black and carrying firearms of some sort.

'Richard Todd?' one of them said.

Dick nodded. He said nothing but held his ground, he had to keep them away from Terry, no matter what he had to do.

The strange calmness he had felt while fighting Annie's shooters returned. He knew for a fact if it came down to it, he would kill these men to protect his friend.

In a flash of blue and red lights, three police cars hurtled onto the dock, stopping between the men and Dick. Four officers jumped out of the cars, their guns at the ready, ordering the men to drop their weapons.

Gordon got out of the car and headed over to Dick.

'Where's Terry?' she said.

Terry popped his head up from behind the car. Seeing it was safe he walked over.

'You both alright?'

'Yeh, thanks to Dick.' Said Terry. 'Boy drives like a demon.'

Babs laughed. 'You're not a true member of the clan until you've been scarred by Dick's driving.' She grinned, thinking back to the days when she and Robin had been on patrol and the one time in her life, she had got in the car with him. His skills were undeniable but his blatant risk taking was something that had had her clinging on for dear life.

'Aw man, my car.' Said Terry, finally seeing the damage to his vehicle. There were bullet holes in the sides and back, two deflated tires and a lot of scratches.

'I'll get someone to collect it later today.' Said Babs. 'I'll drop you both off at the manor.'

The officers bundled the men into the backs of their cars and Terry and Dick got into Gordons. While they were heading back to the manor Dick texted Terry.

 _ **Dick: Those guys were working for Powers.**_

 _ **Terry: How do you know?**_

 _ **Dick: I heard them. They wanted me unharmed, but they were willing to kill you. This is serious.**_

 _ **Terry: I'll check it out tonight. If something going down BM will get to the bottom of it.**_

 _ **Dick: I'm coming with you.**_

 _ **Terry: I'm cool with that…not sure J will be…**_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Absolutely not.' Both Jason and Annie said from their respective places on the couch. Dick wanted to facepalm, these two really were taking on the role of his parents.

'Come on, what is the worst thing that can happen?' asked Dick.

He could see the wheels in Jason's head turning as he thought through his worries. Dick could practically see each of their excuses being made moot by the fact he was a Talon. He could get hurt! Talon. He could die! Talon. He could be kidnapped! Talon.

He waited, watching them both look at each other for help.

'Well?'

'You're not going out with Batman.'

Dick sighed in frustration. 'Why the hell not?'

'Because I said so Richard.' Said Jason, giving the younger a hard look. 'Nothing but misery comes from putting on Robin's mask.'

Dick didn't argue with him on that point. Whilst donning the Robin persona Jason had been killed by the joker, Tim had been kidnapped by the joker and had a mental breakdown, Damian had been tortured to the near point of death and of course, he had been kidnapped by the Court of Owls.

'I never said I was going to go out as Robin.' Dick said quietly. After all this time he wasn't sure he would have been able too. Being Robin seemed a lifetime ago, back in a time when he was a different person. 'I just want to get to the bottom of what Power's is up too. Before he tries another stunt that puts somebody else at risk.'

'Terry will handle it.' Said Jason, he stood up and headed out of the room.

'But…'

'No Dick, that's my final answer.'

Dick gripped his fist in frustration. Annie raised her eyebrows at him.

'Don't do it.' She warned, 'It won't end well.'

Dick ignored her, following Jason into the kitchen.

'Terry could have been shot today.' He said, leaning his weight against the fridge door so Jason couldn't open it. 'What if something like that happens again?'

'Drop it, Dick.'

'Bruce let me go out as Robin when I was nine and human. Why won't you let me go when I literally cannot be hurt or killed?'

Jason pulled the fridge door, but Dick was deceptively strong.

'Why can't you just take my decision as final?' Jason practically whined. This parenting thing was hard at the best of times, but it was made harder when Dick was being stubborn.

'Because it's the wrong one.' Said Dick.

Jason sighed, giving up on opening the fridge.

'It's not your physical state I'm worried about Dick, it's your mental one.' He rubbed his temples when Dick looked confused. 'When we first found you, you were broken. Recently you have been doing so much better, despite everything you have been making progress. I think that's down to having some normality in your life.' Jason explained. 'Going back out as a vigilante might mess all of that up, I don't want you going back to square one!'

Dick looked at him, not quite sure what to make of this information. Finally, he shook his head. 'That's not your decision to make.'

'Actually, it is, at least for the next few months. Until you officially turn 18 with your new identity.' Forgoing his coffee, Jason left the kitchen.

'That's not fair!' Dick yelled, he had turned 18 on April 1st which had been his birthday when he was Dick Grayson. But Richard Todd's birthday had been created as the day they found Dick in the ice, which was still two months away. They had felt it best to change his birthday to avoid any connections between his two identities. But now Jason was using that to his advantage.

Jason turned on his heel.

'If you haven't worked out yet Richard, life is not fair. It's my job to do what is best for you and that is what I am going to do.'

Dick glared. 'You're starting to sound like Bruce.' He said, referring to the argument that had led to him creating the Teen Titans.

'That's fine with me.' Said Jason, 'But I hope for your sake you don't run away this time because that didn't work out great for you.'

He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. Dick looked like he had been slapped; his lip quivered for a brief moment and he looked away from the other man, turned and ran up the stairs to his room, slamming the door.

'Shit.' Said Jason, he turned to return back to the living room and saw Annie standing in the doorway, she didn't look pleased.

'You're an idiot Jason Todd.'

 **A/N Yay another chapter! I'm so glad so many of you are enjoying this story! It really does make me so happy. Please review your thoughts on the story, it helps me know I am heading in the right direction. Karin x**


	24. Chapter 24

Jason hated himself. How could he say those things to Dick? For the last year, they had all been relaying to Dick over and over again that being taken by the Court hadn't been his fault. And here he was, throwing it back in his face in one moment of weakness. He was a terrible person.

Like a dog with its tail between his legs, he made his way up the stairs and stopped outside of Dick's room. It was a couple of hours after their argument. Before Annie had gone down to the cave with Terry, she had given him a glare that said, "fix this."

He gently knocked on the door knowing Dick had probably heard him coming up the stairs, even if he was out on the roof. There was no answer, so he slowly opened the door just in case Dick was sleeping.

He looked around the empty room and saw the open window. Brooding on the roof seemed to be a habit Dick would never grow out of. Going over to the window, he called out as he usually did. He waited for several minutes but Dick did not appear, and he couldn't hear any movement from the roof.

'God damn it.' Jason muttered as he climbed out of the window and up onto the ledge of the roof above. With tentative steps, he walked over to a space by one of the chimneys, where Dick usually sat. But there was no one there.

'Dick?' Jason called, in case the boy was hiding. Other than the sound of the wind everything was quiet. 'Shit.'

He hurried back down to the room. He felt physically sick as memories flooded his mind of the day Dick had run away. Bruce had been panicked and his anxiety had been infectious. He had been 14 and his older brother had disappeared into the night without so much as a note. Even after he showed up in Jump and finally got back in touch, that night was still one of Jason's worst memories.

When he had taken over guardianship of Dick, he told himself he would be better than Bruce, he would give Dick no excuse to run away. It appeared he was no better.

He entered the cave and ran down the staircase.

'Dick's gone.' He said, expecting Annie and Bruce to freak out.

Annie did look slightly alarmed, but Bruce shrugged.

'What did you expect?' he said calmly.

'What?' Jason snapped.

'Jason, do you honestly think I went straight into the practice of letting a nine-year-old come out on patrol with me?' said the old man. 'I trained Dick to be Robin to keep him safe. Whether he went out with Batman or on his own, he was going to go.'

'So, he hasn't run away?' said Jason, the sickening feeling starting to settle.

Bruce leant over to the computer.

'McGinnis, is Dick with you?'

' _No.'_

'McGinnis.' Said Bruce in a warning tone his sons knew so well.

There was a moment's silence and then Terry answered. ' _It wasn't my idea.'_

Jason practically collapsed into an empty chair, running a hand through his hair. This kid was going to be the death of him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'You are in so much trouble.' Said Batman, looking over to the figure in black.

Dick had appeared at his side not long after he had set off from the Cave. He was wearing a black suit and was carrying escrima sticks on his back to replace his sword. The mask covering his face actually made him look more human. Dick shrugged, he had been very quiet since he'd arrived.

'When am I not?' His life seemed to be a constant routine of being grounded or being shot at. Sometimes both on the same day.

'Point taken.' Said Batman, 'Let's go.'

'You're not going to send me back?' asked Dick, once Bruce had called him out, he had presumed Terry would ask him to go home.

'Would you go?' asked Terry, shrugging when Dick shook his head. 'Then what would be the point.'

They walked over to the roof where they were going to glide over to Powers' building.

'We need a code name for you. I can't call you Dick over the commlink.'

Dick tilted his head to the side, the last time he had had to think of a code name it had been Robin.

'You pretty much blend into the dark right now.' Said Batman. 'For now, we'll call you Night.'

'Because that's not pretentious.' Said Dick, opening the kite-like back of his suit so that he would be able to glide down. He paused when Terry chuckled. 'What?'

'That suit makes you look like you've got wings. I just find it ironic.' He brightened. 'Ok, let's call you Nightwing.'

Dick thought about it a moment, well it sounded better than Batman and the Night. Nightwing it was.

They glided down to the balcony of the complex, bringing their wings back into their suits. Getting into the building was child's play and soon they found themselves creeping through the halls of Derek Power's base.

'What actually happened to Power's after you stopped him?' asked Nightwing.

'Not entirely sure.' Batman admitted. 'I presume he was infected by the gas, which is why he stood down from the company.'

'You think he's still alive then?' Dick had seen the case file for the nerve gas, it hadn't been pretty.

'I expect so.' Said Batman, 'If there is one thing that man is good at, it's surviving.'

They arrived at a door that was locked by several complicated locks.

'Lend me an ear?' asked Batman as he knelt down with his lock picks. He carefully started picking the lock and Nightwing listened for when the tumblers clicked. Picking locks was a breeze when you had super hearing. They entered into what looked like an office.

'Look for anything that links him to the hitmen.'

'Which ones?' Nightwing joked lightly. They began searching the room; Nightwing hacked into the computer, his fingers flying across the keys. It had been so long since he had done anything like this, it felt so good to be back in the game. Even if it was only for one night.

'Hey Bats.' He said after a few minutes. 'How many floors did you say this building had?'

'27, including the lower parking lot, why?' asked Batman, confused at such a random question.

'Because according to these blueprints there should be 28.'

Batman came to look over his shoulder, sure enough, the blueprints of the building showed 28 floors. Power's owned the whole building…why wasn't the 28th floor on the public records?

'Think we should go check it out?'

Dick grinned in response. Making their way down to the lower floor was easier said than done and for the first time, Dick was glad he had such a tiny frame as Terry seemed to be struggling a little as they made their way through the vents.

Suddenly Nightwing stopped. He turned and held his finger to his lips, he could hear someone below them.

'Honestly, how hard is to kidnap one scrawny brat?'

Terry saw Dick frown at the insult, but they both remained silent. It was Powers Junior talking.

'The guys said the kid was intense, he just walked up to them after they crashed his car.' Said another guy whose voice Terry didn't recognise. 'Then the cops showed up.'

'First the girl and now this. Why are the police and Batman always around to save this family?' Said Junior. 'We need leverage against Wayne or our plans are going to go up in smoke.'

'If you want something done right you need to do it yourself.' The voice that spoke was strange, it sounded almost inhuman.

'No offence father, but I don't think I would fair too well against the Bat. Not to mention what it would do to my image.'

'Then allow me to be of some assistance.'

In a matter of seconds, a shot was fired at the vent, dislodging one of the pins and turning the structure into a large slide which sent both heroes falling to the ground.

'I present the Batman. And guest.'

They both looked up in horror at the monster Derek Powers had become. He was glowing, his face practically a neon skeleton.

'Kill them!' Junior shouted.

They quickly got to their feet and armed themselves against the group of hired thugs. There were six of them.

'Ready?' said Batman.

'Born ready.' Said Nightwing and they attacked. Dick blocked one of his opponents' knives with ease, the man grunted.

'Who the hell are you?'

'I'm Nightwing. Nice to meet ya.' He hadn't meant to do it, but as he pushed the man away and dodged the one behind by jumping in the air, he let out what had once been his signature cackle.

'This kid is creepy.'

'Now that's not very nice.' Nightwing knocked the guy's feet from under him, avoiding the bullets when the gun in his hands went off on impact.

'Enough of this.'

Nightwing turned to see Derek Powers approaching Batman, who was currently grappling with one of the thugs. In one quick motion, he stood between them, raising his arms to block the blow. He instantly knew his mistake.

Batman heard the cry of agony come from Nightwing, it was a sound he knew would haunt him. Dick never cried out, ever. He threw the thug to the side and turned to find his partner. Nightwing's tiny wrist was currently enclosed in Powers large hand and there was smoke coming from between the fingers as his toxic flesh burnt Dick's own.

'Nightwing!'

'I'm fine.' Nightwing's voice quivered a little but he stood his ground. 'I got this.'

Batman nodded and went back to taking down the others.

'You have nothing boy.' Powers hissed, his grip tightening.

'I wouldn't be so sure.' Black veins leaked around the corners of his mask. The second he activated his electrum he felt the pain start to decrease. He grabbed Powers hand with his free one and broke the man's grip, ripping his burnt wrist from his grasp.

Powers watched as the wound, that should have left a terrible scar, healed perfectly in seconds.

'What are you?' he asked.

'You know, that question is starting to sound a little rude.' Dick lashed out, pushing the glowing creature away from the others. The wound had taken a lot of his energy to heal, he couldn't imagine how long it would take Terry to recover from a brush with this guy, or if he ever would heal.

His suit was burning away with every contact he had, and he was healing his flesh over and over again. He managed to get some distance between them and spoke to Terry through the comm link.

'Call Gordon, I have a recording of their conversation. We have the evidence we need.'

'What about the big guy?' asked Batman.

'I've got a plan.' Said Nightwing, if he could just get Derek into the cryo-chamber that was in the room he could lock him in it. He guessed the chamber was used to stable the guy's body, so he doubted he would be able to melt himself out.

On his next attack, Nightwing went to push the creature back and his hands collided with Powers own. The burning sensation was intense, but he pushed through it. His electrum was dividing itself between healing the burns and feeding his muscles. Both of which he needed right now, or he was going to lose. He pushed, and he pushed, bringing his body to the edge of capability for the first time since he'd unlocked his electrum. He didn't know how much longer he could hold out, but he knew he had too. Finally, they were close enough, releasing his hold he dropped down and took his feet out from under him, dropping the creature into the chamber. Batman was there in an instant, shutting the lid down and locking it.

'Nicely done.' Said, Batman.

Nightwing stayed on the floor. He was utterly spent.

'Cops are on their way, we better go.' Said Terry, as much as he trusted Gordon he never liked to be around when the Cops arrived. 'Come on get up.'

'I can't.' Nightwing said quietly.

'What do you mean?'

'I can't move.' He tried once again to lift any part of his body, but everything felt too heavy to lift. 'I think I used all of my electrum, my body needs to replenish.'

He was so tired, he'd never felt this weak in his whole life.

'Ok.' Said Terry, looping one of Dick's arms around his shoulder. 'I got you, pal.' He lifted the Talon to his feet, but Dick seemed too weak to stand on his own or even move his legs to walk. Terry called the Batwing to the back of the building and then lifted Dick up into his arms. He knew Dick was in trouble when the kid didn't comment. His head just lulled onto Terry's shoulder.

Terry kicked open the fire escape and made his way over to the Batwing, lowering Dick into the seat. Dick groaned, he had never felt like this before, even after being stabbed on Ben's rescue mission. Was this what it felt like to be human?

'I'll be right back,' said Batman. 'I'm just going to fill Gordon in.'

Terry disappeared, and Dick was left alone in the darkness of the jet. Every breath was an effort, but he focused on each one. He was so tired, the darkness pulling him under. Maybe if he just slept, he would feel better.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When the Batwing landed in the cave, they were all around it in moments. Terry opened the hood and jumped out, helping Jason lift Dick from his seat. The kid was out of it, completely asleep.

'That was a close one.' Said Bruce to Terry while Dick was carried to the med area.

'Tell me about it.' Said Terry, pulling off his cowl. 'I don't know what I would have done if Dick hadn't been there.'

They joined Jason and Dick, the younger was semi-awake, sat up on the bed as Jason tried to remove the damaged suit, but he was struggling to keep Dick upright.

'Is he alright?' asked Annie.

'I think he's just drained.' Said Jason thoughtfully. Terry came and held Dick's shoulders, so the suit could be removed. Dick's chest and arms were covered in red patches from where he had been burned, the same could be said for his legs when they got the rest of the suit off him. Dick shivered at the sudden change in temperature.

As quickly as he could, Jason dressed him in soft pants and a long sleeve shirt then lay him on the bed. He rolled up his sleeve and quickly took some blood, noting as he removed the needle that the small pinprick did not disappear. Dick didn't even have enough electrum to heal something that small.

He hooked Dick up to an IV of fluids and tucked him into bed.

'Let him sleep, that's what he needs right now.' Said Jason to the others. They nodded and dispersed. Jason checked on Dick, moving stray hairs from his face. When he went to draw away Dick's hand was gripping his shirt.

'Please don't go.' He mumbled, still half asleep.

Jason climbed on the bed with him and Dick curled into his side. The fact he was now able to move a little was a good sign.

'I wouldn't run away.' Came a quiet whisper.

'What?' asked Jay.

'I wouldn't run away,' Dick said again a little louder. His eyes were still closed, and his hand was still gripped into the fabric of Jason's shirt. 'It's not the normalcy making me better. It's having a family again…I wouldn't…run away..from..that.' His mumbles became quieter as he fell back into slumber.

'You did good kid.' Said Jason. He watched Dick sleep, thinking over the result of the mission. The recording Dick had taken had been sent to Gordon. She had arrested Powers and his goons, the monster that had been Derek Powers had been taken into custody. Hopefully, this nightmare was now over, and they would finally be able to catch a break. God only knows, they all needed one. He drifted off to sleep himself, leaving Dick's blood sample on the desk, forgetting to put it in the cooler.

 **A/N I hope you are all enjoying this story. I do get worried that people find my work boring. I'm trying to bring it all together but there are so many little pieces in my head that I need to grasp. Please review. Karin x**


	25. Chapter 25

It was one of those rare mornings where the whole family was sat together having breakfast. Jason, Bruce and Damian were sat at the kitchen table, Annie was sipping tea whilst leant against the counter and Tim was filling up his third mug of coffee from the coffee machine. When Dick came through the door, Jason raised his hands above his head.

'He has arisen!'

It had been three days since Batman and Nightwing had fought Derek Powers and Dick had been in bed sleeping since. Despite this, he looked too tired to deal with Jason's jokes. He was wearing pjs and an oversized hoodie. His hair was sticking out at an odd angle and there were shadows under his eyes.

'You look like you need this more than I do.' Said Tim, handing him a mug of coffee.

'Don't get him hooked on that stuff.' Said Annie.

Tim chuckled, 'Who do you think got me hooked in the first place.'

Annie rolled her eyes. 'Don't tell me you were a workaholic too.' The times since she had started living here that she had had to force Tim to stop working or found him asleep at his desk.

'No, I was an insomniac.' Said Dick, his voice husky. 'I had constant night terrors.'

'At least that's something you overcame.' Said Jason, he knew for a fact Dick had been sleeping since he came back to live in the manor.

'Funnily enough night terrors don't bother you as much when your waking life is more of a nightmare.' Dick sipped the coffee and relaxed into a chair.

'Well you're back on your feet, so I'm hoping your electrum is building again. Do you feel stronger?' asked Damian.

'It's getting better.' Said Dick, clicking his neck. 'Slowly.'

'You'd probably heal faster in hibernation.' Damian commented, shrugging when Dick glared at him.

'Do you feel up to coming out with me today?' asked Bruce.

'Where are we going?' asked Dick, looking at Bruce with tired eyes.

'It's a surprise.' He said. 'A good one.' He added when Dick looked suspicious.

'I'll go get ready.' He said, swallowing the rest of the coffee before standing up and slowly making his way to the door.

'We should all get going.' Said Tim, 'Annie, will you be alright on your own today?'

'She won't be on her own, I'm working from home today.' Said Jason.

Tim shrugged and he, Bruce and Damian stood and left.

'You've been working from home a lot recently.' Said Annie.

'I'm trying to centre my business around Gotham. It will be more stable for Dick if I don't have to travel as much.' Jason had given himself a few months to get his life back on track, letting the business run itself more or less. But now that he was picking up more caseloads again, he wanted to stay at home as much as possible.

'Besides,' he continued, 'Means I can keep an eye on you.'

'I'm fine Jason.' It was true, she had recovered almost completely after the shooting.

She began tidying up the things from the table, taking them to the sink. Jason helped her, and as he placed the plates on the counter, he accidently cornered her between his arms and the counter. She turned and bumped into him awkwardly.

'Sorry,' she whispered but he didn't move. They hadn't spent all that much time together before Dick had arrived. But since he had been under their care, they had often found themselves in each other's company and the more confident Dick became with the world, the more time they spent alone. Jason could honestly say he didn't know where he would be without this woman.

He took a chance, grasping her lips with his own. The risk was rewarded when she kissed him back. After a few moments they broke apart.

'What was that?' she said quietly.

'I've been wanting to do that for a while.' Jason admitted. 'Is that ok?'

She smiled and answered by kissing him again. It was an electric but terrifying moment. Both of them knew they weren't the sort of people to randomly go around kissing people for no reason. The fact they were both doing this meant something was going to come out of this at the end of the day.

They broke the kiss again.

'I think we need to talk.' Jason said, resting his forehead on hers.

'Probably a good idea.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

By the time Bruce pulled into the parking lot of their destination, Dick seemed to have perked up a little, the coffee clearly doing its job. He parked the car and looked over at his young counterpart.

'What are we doing here?' asked Dick, looking over at the building in confusion.

'When each of the boys turned 18, I brought them here.' Said Bruce.

'To do what?' The building was expensive but plain, from the outside you could not tell what the company did.

'I have a friend here who custom designs motorcycles.'

Dick turned in his seat.

'Are you serious?' he asked excitedly. Since he had been cleared to drive again, he had been using the spare bike that he and Terry were building back up. It was alright, and it did the job, but he was a little short for it and it made handling the vehicle harder than it needed to be.

'You're parking permit came through while you were recovering.' Explained Bruce. 'I thought it was only right you had your own bike to get around on.'

Dick beamed. 'Oh my God, thank you Bruce.'

When they walked inside the building, Dick was bouncing like an excited kid at Christmas. The room they were brought to was bright and clean with pictures of vehicles all over the walls.

'Mr Wayne!' A man entered, he looked to be around the same age as Bruce, he was well dressed, and his hair had hints of grey running through it.

'Mr Barrow. Good to see you, thank you for seeing me.'

'Of course, I always have time for one of my favourite customers.' They shook hands and then Bruce reached his arm out to Dick.

'Dick, this man is John Barrow, he designs the bikes. John, this is my Grandson Dick.'

A sad expression flashed for a moment on John's face and Dick could guess he was momentarily thinking about Grayson and the fact he never had the chance to do this with Bruce. Little did he know.

'Of course, Jason's boy. Lovely to meet you.'

'Nice to meet you.' Said Dick, shaking the man's hand.

'Well we better get started, no time like the present.' He showed them to a studio, as Bruce passed him, he whispered his concern to the man.

'Are you sure he's old enough to drive?' The boy looked very young, his frame delicate.

'He's a lot older than he looks.' Said Bruce quietly, not bothering to whisper as he knew Dick could hear them. 'And frankly, he's one of the best drivers I've ever known.' He saw a small smile play on Dick's lips at this comment. They all stood around a large illuminated table in the centre of the room. The table was a computer surface and John brought up many pictures of bikes in all sizes and styles.

'Let's get started shall we.'

Four hours later, they had a motorcycle that was designed around Dick to the finest detail. Bruce could see that the younger was extremely happy with the finished result, but he could also see that his energy was fading. He was blinking more often, his posture a little more slumped and he was desperately trying to hide his yawns. He still wasn't completely recovered from his night out with Batman. By the time they were back in the car, Dick looked completely spent.

'Thank you for that Bruce.' He said tiredly.

'It was my pleasure Dick, I hated the fact that I was never able to spend a day doing this with you.'

Dick smiled at him and settled back in his seat. They drove the rest of the way home in silence and when Bruce pulled the car into the garage he looked to his side and saw Dick asleep beside him.

Damian was there to greet them, when Bruce got out of the car, he placed his finger to his lips and pointed into the car. Dami came around to Dick's side and quietly opened the door. He undid the seat belt and gently lifted his brother from the seat. Dick stirred a little, but Dami shushed him and told him to go back to sleep. The Talon complied, drifting back into sleep against Damian's chest.

As Damian walked up to Dick's room, carrying the boy with the greatest care, he couldn't help but think about a time when Dick had done the same thing to him. He lay the boy down on his bed and Dick curled over against the pillow, sighing in contentment. Damian covered him with the blanket.

'Sleep well Richard.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

By the time Monday rolled back around, Dick was feeling a lot better and was determined to go back to school. Jason hadn't been willing to let him go back until Dick had managed to stay awake for an entire day. Finally, Dick felt more energised.

He rushed down the stairs, grabbing his lunch from the kitchen and jacket from by the door. Where the hell was his history book?

After a moment's thought he remembered where he had been doing his history homework before the Powers incident. He headed for the study, remembering exactly where it was.

When he pushed open the door Annie and Jason pulled away from each other, both of their faces red, their expression guilty. Dick stopped in his tracks.

'I uhhh…' he looked from one to the other. 'History book…' he muttered. 'I'm gonna go.' He turned away from them and closed the door, history book forgotten about. He had just walked in on Jason and Annie KISSING! How long had this been going on for? Why was this going on? And why did it make him suddenly feel panicked?

The door opened but he kept walking towards the garage.

'Dick?' Jason called after him. 'Dick come back.'

'I've got to get to school.' Dick said, his eyes focused on his destination.

'I'll drive you.'

'No, I'll take my bike.' He was thankful that the bike Bruce had brought for him had arrived a few days earlier. He entered into the garage and grabbed his helmet from the shelf. Jason followed him.

'Dick please, we need to talk about this.'

'I really need to get going, I'm going to be late.' He climbed onto the bike, still not looking in Jason's direction.

'Ok.' Jason relented. 'But we will talk about this when you get home.'

Dick revved the bike to life and drove off. Jason watched him disappear down the drive before he returned to the study where Annie was pacing.

'What have we done?' She said.

'It will be alright.' He said, closing the door quietly. 'I'll talk to him when he gets home.' He looked down at the book that was on the side table; Dick had forgotten his history book.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Nelson is in a particularly bad mood today.' Said Dana, sitting next to Terry on the wall outside of the school. 'I hope he doesn't start giving Dick a hard time again.'

'I wouldn't worry, I think he's still freaked out over what Dick did to him the last time they clashed.'

'Is Dick alright?' asked Dana, an expression of concern plastered on her face. 'He seems to be off sick a lot.'

Terry gave a one shouldered shrug. 'He's got a lot of problems.'

'But he's okay?'

'I think so.' As they spoke an unfamiliar bike pulled into the parking lot. Students looked over to the bike with curiosity, wondering who was driving the new vehicle. Dick parked the bike and unclipped his helmet.

'Somethings wrong.' Said Terry, seeing Dick's lost expression. He walked over to his friend. 'You good?'

'What?' asked Dick, he looked like he had been completely lost in thought.

'I said, are you good?'

Dick sighed apologetically. 'Yeh, I'm good.'

Terry could see he was lying, but he knew better than to push him. They walked back up to the school together, Dick still very quiet.

'Back again freak!'

They turned around to see Nelson and his friends standing a safe distance away from them. They still seemed fearful to come too close to Dick, but not scared enough to leave him be. Terry could understand, looking at Dick it was easy to forget just how strong he actually was.

'Do you think if I smashed his face in it would ruin my helmet.' Said Dick, turning away from the bully once again.

Terry frowned, Nelson wasn't the only one in a bad mood today.

'Did you get the memo about the sports morning?' Terry asked, trying to distract Dick from his aggression. The Talon gave him a confused look.

'I will take that as a no.' laughed Terry. 'It's ok, you can wear my winter gear, it will probably be better for you anyway.' He knew how affected Dick was by the cold.

'Thanks.' Said Dick.

'Did something happen?' Terry asked quietly.

'I don't want to talk about it.' Said Dick. So, something was wrong.

'Come on, let's go get changed.'

The whole morning was spent doing different sport activities in groups. The whole of their grade was split into four teams and had to compete against each other. Dick hadn't been pushing himself too hard, he didn't want to risk draining himself so soon after recovering. For the most part he stood quietly, his fingers playing with the sleeves of the long shirt Terry had lent him. Finally, they were reaching the end of the morning.

'Right, last race of the day will be a long-distance run. You will select one person from your team to compete. Whoever wins, their team will be excused from cleaning up.'

All of the students looked at each of the others in their team.

'Terry, you're probably the fastest.' Said a kid on their team. But Terry shook his head, there was one person he knew was faster than him.

'Dick, you're faster than me, you should do it.' He said.

Dick looked like he had only just realised what was going on.

'Are you serious?' he asked. Before anyone could answer there was a shout from the track.

'Come on losers, hurry it up!'

They looked down to the track to see Nelson and two of his crew. Dick narrowed his eyes and began walking down to the track.

'Come on, Todd!' His class mates yelled after him.

Dick joined the others on the track and took his place. From the corner of his eye he could see their coach looking at him with a curious expression. Dick wasn't a student he had ever really come across and as he stood between the three tall, well-built jocks he looked very small.

'You have three laps. Remember you are competing for your team to get out of here early. On your marks, get set…' He shot off the starting pistol and they began running. Dick could feel his adrenaline rising but he didn't let it affect his electrum, he could win this race fair and square. After the first lap he was ahead of Nelson's friends and was just a little in front of Nelson himself. Suddenly, when they were on the farthest point away from the coach, Nelson threw his leg out into Dick's lane. With his mind partly focusing on keeping himself in check, Dick failed to dodge and fell. His shoulder hit the ground hard and he rolled. Pain shot through his body and his lip as he accidently bit down on it. He tasted blood and felt it drip down his chin. Nelson's friends passed him, they looked slightly freaked by what Nelson had just done but they did not stop to help him.

Dick growled, he really hated this kid. If he wanted to play dirty, then he would play dirty too. He felt the rush of electrum flow to his muscles and he picked himself off the ground and started running again.

Terry had been on his feet the second he saw Dick fall. Something had happened, he knew Dick wouldn't just trip over nothing.

'Aw man, we should have sent McGinnis.' Said one of his team mates.

'Don't be so sure.' Said Max, nodding back to the race. Dick was already catching them up.

'Wo! This kid is insane!'

Terry frowned, Dick was using electrum. He had used the second lap to catch them all up and on the last lap he was neck and neck with Nelson again.

Nelson looked to his side and caught Dick's eye. Dick smirked before pushing forward and over taking him, moments later crossing the finish line.

Dick saw Nelson kick the ground and growl in irritation as Dick's team erupted in cheers, running down to him. It was only when someone slapped him on the back that he realised he'd dislocated his shoulder when he fell.

'I have to say Todd, that was impressive.' Said the coach, 'Ever thought of trying out for the track team?'

'I'm not really a team player.' Said Dick, tenderly trying to roll his shoulder back into place, but it wouldn't budge. 'Excuse me.'

He pushed through the team and headed for the locker rooms. He worked out he had a few minutes before the rest of the team came to get changed.

'Are you crazy?' Terry followed him in. 'What happened to not using your electrum?'

'I wasn't about to let Nelson win.' Said Dick, wincing as he tried to take his top off.

'What have you done?'

'Dislocated my shoulder.' The cut on his lip had healed but his electrum had been busy making him faster, leaving his shoulder out of place.

'Come here.' Terry helped him remove the shirt, the kids' shoulder was indeed out of place. 'Do you need help?'

'No, I got it.'

It was at that moment the rest of the team decided to make an entrance, along with Nelson looking murderous. He looked like he was about to say something when he stopped and looked Dick up and down.

Terry knew what they were seeing. Generally, Dick looked like a scrawny, short kid. But under his loose shirts and hoodies his muscles were defined, his abs hard and chiselled. He looked intimidating, even whilst cradling his injured shoulder.

'Oh my God Todd, are you ok?' said one of the guys, eyeing up the wound. 'We should get coach to have a look at that.'

'It's not a problem.' Said Dick, placing his arm across his chest and using his other arm to push on his elbow. With an audible popping sound, his shoulder fell back into place.

'Dude that is nasty.' Someone said.

'Are you kidding, that's bad ass.' Said another.

Nelson was looking unsure of himself, he finally turned back and headed out of the locker room.

Dick smirked and turned back to his locker.

'Where did you get that scar?' Terry was standing right behind him, shielding him from the view of the others. Dick was thankful, he had honestly forgotten the scar was even there, it had been so long since it had healed.

'It's the reason I ran away.' Dick said quietly. 'You're lucky you've never had to face the Joker.' He pulled his shirt on, hiding the small but angry scar on his back from where the Joker had shot him when he was 15. The mission that had almost killed him and had broken his and Bruce's relationship.

Dick thought back to that time and how he had felt like he had lost Bruce's love. Then he thought back to what he had seen this morning. Was that what this feeling was? Was he scared of losing Jason's love?

He quietly thought about this as he got dressed and remained lost in thought all the way to his next class. It wasn't until he was walking through the door to his history class that he realised he had left in such a hurry that he hadn't picked up his text book.

'Mr Todd.' Dick looked over to Miss Isles, his teacher for American History. 'Your father dropped this off for you.' She passed him his history textbook. Dick looked at the book in his hands, more feelings swelling up in his chest. Suddenly the thought of going home to speak to Jason was the last thing he wanted to do – he was so confused.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

At the end of the day, Dick walked slowly with the others to the parking lot. As they headed out of the school, Chelsea, one of Dana's friends came over to them. She was blonde, skinny and Nelson's girlfriend.

'Nelson is a jerk.' She said, hands on her hips.

'It's taken you this long to work that out?' said Dana.

'No, but he is being a real jerk today. I think he's all wound up over Dick beating him at that stupid race.'

She sighed dramatically. 'Anyway, we had a massive fight and I am no longer talking to him. Can I catch a lift home with you?'

Dana looked at her apologetically. 'Sorry Chels, I'm going with Terry to the movies.'

A look of woe crossed over Chelsea's face as she realised she would have to apologies to Nash if she wanted to get home.

'I'll take you home.' Said Dick.

Chelsea looked surprised, she'd never really spent time alone with the new kid, he was always just around with Terry.

'Are you sure?' she asked.

'Yeh, as long as you don't mind riding on the back of a cycle.' He lifted his helmet as evidence that was what he was driving. 'I don't have any hurry to get home.'

'Thanks, that would be great.'

He threw her his helmet which she caught with both her hands. 'What about you?'

'I'll be fine.' He said his good byes to the others and headed down towards his bike.

'Hang on tight Chels.' Terry called after them.

Dick swung his leg over his bike and felt Chelsea settle behind him, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He started the bike and gently made his way onto the road. While they were waiting at the first red light, a familiar truck pulled up beside them.

'Hey Chels, didn't realise you were into losers.' Nelson called from his car. Dick felt Chelsea's grip tighten.

'Hang on.' Dick said, revving the engine. As soon as the lights turned green, he launched forward, swerving the bike in front of Nelson's truck and racing ahead of him with practised ease. He flew through the city towards the address Chelsea had given him, eventually pulling off the main streets and onto a private road much like the one Wayne Manor resided in. He came to a stop outside the gate.

'Thanks for the ride.' Said Chelsea, getting off the bike and handing him his helmet.

'No problem.' Said Dick.

She regarded him for a moment then said; 'So why don't you want to go home?'

Dick looked at her, she played dumb when she was around the jocks, but she was surprisingly perceptive.

'My dad wants to talk.' Dick admitted. 'He's got a new girlfriend.'

'Oh, and you don't like her?'

'No, I like her. She's someone whose been in my life for a while now. I just don't know how I feel about them being together.'

'I can understand that.' Said Chelsea.

'You can?' said Dick, because he really didn't understand how he was feeling right now.

'Yeh, I mean I feel weird whenever my dad gets a new girlfriend.'

Dick suddenly realised he had probably chosen the right person to talk to about this.

'Do you think they will stay together?'

'I don't know.' Said Dick. 'I hope so.' If they didn't it would be very awkward.

'But your worried he won't have time for you?'

Dick looked at her sharply. Was that it? Yes, yes it was! If Jason and Annie got together then there was a chance, they could have a family, a real family. And where would that leave him?

His forlorn expression confirmed her theory. 'You just have to change the way you look at it.' She said.

'What do you mean?'

'Well, think of it like this. Your dad clearly loves you. I mean he brought your history book all the way to school this morning.'

He nodded at her, that was true. And there were other things Jason had done for him that he would never be able to explain to Chelsea.

'And you like the woman he's dating.' (He nodded again). 'Well then don't think of it like your being replaced. The way I see it you're kind of going to have both parents again.' She smiled at him, obviously knowing the story they had spun about his mom.

'And from what I hear your family is pretty close, you live with your uncles and your Grandfather? So, you're never alone. And you have some great friends.' She smiled. 'Terry is a great guy and from what Dana says he thinks the world of you.'

Dick's eyes widened, he didn't realise Terry thought so highly of him.

'I don't know what happened to you in the past Dick, I'm guessing it wasn't all sunshine and roses. But your life is pretty great right now, don't lose sight of that.'

'Thanks, Chels.'

She waved at him, turning towards the gate. 'I'll see you tomorrow.'

As Dick drove home, he thought about what she had said. His life was pretty great. Despite everything that had happened to him, he had a home, a family, friends. And the two people who were the closest thing he had to parents were in love. It was actually pretty perfect.

He parked his bike in the garage and pretty much walked into Jason the second he entered the house.

'Dick, why are you so late?'

'I dropped off one of the girls from school, she had a fight with her boyfriend and needed a ride.' He explained.

Jason nodded in understanding, then looked awkward.

'Listen, about this morning…'

'You don't need to explain.' Dick cut in. 'Just tell me. Do you love her?'

Jason nodded. 'Yeh, I do.'

Dick smiled. 'Then I'm happy for you. Both of you.'

Jason let out a funny laugh in relief. 'It's never going to be picket white fences or anything, but I hope we're doing alright, filling their shoes.' It was the first time anyone had really mentioned John and Mary Grayson, they had been left in the past along with Dick Grayson.

'You're great dad.' Dick said, 'I'm happy.'

Jason could see that he meant it. Dick really did look content.

They parted ways and Jason headed for the kitchen for coffee, he had been a nervous wreck all day and hadn't got any work done, he would be working into the night to catch back up.

Bruce was in the kitchen, reading the news on a tablet. Jason nodded to him as he made his coffee. He took a grateful sip of the caffeine.

'So,' said Bruce. 'How long have you and Annie been sleeping together?'

Jason choked on the coffee, giving his adopted father a look of disbelief.

'How did you…?'

'I may not where the suit anymore.' He said going back to his tablet. 'But I'm still Batman.'

 **A/N: Ahhh quickly get this up before my laptop dies! I hope you enjoy this chapter, its a little longer than usual, so enjoy. Pleaser review! Karin x**


	26. Chapter 26

Dick wasn't sure what had awoken him. He lay on his side, his arm snaked under the pillow and his legs curled up almost to his chest. The room was still dark, giving no indication as to the time. He had no idea whether he had been asleep for hours or just minutes. He lay there, only half pondering what had woken him as he drifted back into sleep. But then it was there again. The pain. It was sharp, surging through his body as he drew in a breath.

He held the breath, not daring to take more oxygen into his lungs or expel the gas that was already there. Slowly, the pain faded to a dull ache and then disappeared. He released the breath slowly.

Curiously he sat up, his blanket pooling around his hips. He took slow deliberate breaths, measuring the pain when it returned. It radiated from his back just under his ribs, the stabbing sensation building with each breath that he took. He winced as the pain spiked.

He sat for a while in the darkness, letting the pain wash over him. Pain was not a foreign concept to him. He had dealt with it much in his life. But he was not used to waking in the middle of the night with pain that was not caused by an injury. This experience was definitely new.

Deciding he was not going to be able to go back to sleep, Dick gingerly slipped his legs off the bed and stood. As he rose to his feet the room shifted around him and the pain was suddenly mixed with insistent nausea that made him pad quietly to his bathroom. He threw on the light before doubling over above the toilet, his stomach relinquishing last night's dinner. Dick groaned, wiping his hand across his mouth and he sank to his knees. The cold tiles felt cool against his flesh but for once he welcomed the sensation. He lay down on the floor, pressing his cheek to the shining white surface. He didn't bother to question his new tolerance for the cold, instead, he took advantage of the fact it was numbing him to the pain and drifted back into sleep.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

In the few weeks that had followed their discovery, Jason and Annie had grown more open about their relationship. Where they had thought there would be judgement from the others, they were met with only happiness. The last few weeks had been perfect, not white picket fence perfect, but at times they had felt like they were a proper family. There had been one day, in particular, they had been out at the park in Gotham. Dick had wanted to test out his new ability to control his heightened hearing, so the three of them had gone together. Jason and Annie sat on a bench, quietly talking while Dick sat cross-legged in the grass with his eyes closed.

They had probably been there for around 30 minutes when a small child came and sat next to Dick. She stared at him and sensing her close to him, Dick opened his eyes and looked at her. She blanched slightly at the sight of his yellow eyes but recovered quickly.

'What are you doing?' she asked.

'Listening.' Said Dick.

'To what?'

'Everything.'

'Why?' she cocked her small head to the side and regarded him curiously.

'Why not?'

The child, remarkably, seemed happy with the answer and instead looked around.

'Are you on your own?'

'No.' He turned and looked over to Annie and Jason, aware that they too were watching him. The girl looked over as well.

'Is that your Mommy and Daddy?'

Dick did not confirm this, neither did he deny it. He simply smiled at the child. But that smile had warmed both of the adult's hearts.

They watched as Dick talked a little more with the child until finally, the girl's parents called her back over. She waved at her new friend as she departed. Jason watched Dick pinch the bridge of his nose as he put the sound filters back in his ears. He had a headache, it was time to leave.

'Come on Dick.' He called and the younger stood gracefully and walked back over to them.

'Looks like you made a friend.' Said Annie. The little girl's comment was not mentioned, but Annie wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a side hug and kissing the top of his head. His smile had meant everything to her.

Now they were in the kitchen, it was Thursday and they were the only ones left in the room. They moved in harmony around the space, cleaning up from breakfast and getting ready to start their work days. Annie noted the coffee mug on the shelf. They all had their designated mugs, it was unusual to see one unused in the morning.

'Where's Dick? It was nearly time for him to be leaving but he had yet to come down for breakfast.

'I'll go check.' Said Jason. Dick was not usually one to oversleep, but stranger things had happened. As he approached the door to his room, he could hear movement on the other side. 'Dick, you ready to go?' he called. The movement stopped.

'Yeh.' Dick's voice was huskier than usual. After a few more moments the door opened, and Dick appeared. He was dressed in his usual black attire, but today he seemed even paler than usual. The bags under his eyes were prominent, his eyes dull and his bangs were ever so slightly sticking to his forehead.

Jason could not hide his expression.

'I didn't sleep well last night.' Said Dick, reaching a hand up to push his hair off his face. His hands were shaking.

'Are you sure that's all it is?' asked Jason, he had never seen the Talon look so fragile.

'Yes, I'm fine.' Dick's response was too quick, too defensive. But Jason didn't push, he trusted that Dick would come to him if something was really wrong.

'Annie saved you some breakfast.'

'I'm not hungry.' Said Dick. He walked passed the other male and headed for the stairs. He paused a few seconds longer than normal, as though deliberating the best way to descend them.

'Do you want a ride to school?'

'No, I'll be fine.' Dick took the first step then the next. Jason watched him. He was aware that his adopted son was weird, due to his mutation he had habits and ticks that were not what everyone would call normal. Over the course of the last year, the whole family had grown used to some of Dick's more common quirks. The way he muttered to himself in foreign languages, how he always knew who was about to enter the room before they even did, how his eyes lit up whenever he understood a reference to something. But this behaviour was unusual, even for the exTalon. Jason brought his phone from his pocket and texted Terry.

'Keep an eye on Dick.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

That's easier said than done, thought Terry, reading the text for the third time that morning. He wondered again whether he should ask Jason what he was keeping an eye out for, but once again simply put his phone back in his pocket. It was second period, and he had yet to even catch a glimpse of his friend. He'd wandered past the parking lot on his way to class and saw the kids' bike, so he knew he was on campus, but they hadn't had classes together this morning and Dick didn't seem to want to be social between classes.

'Dana?' Terry leaned over in his seat when the teachers back was turned, Dana glanced over to him. 'Have you seen Dick today?'

Dana shook her head. 'No why?'

'No reason, I'm sure it's nothing.' He'd known Jason for a little over 3 years and couldn't miss how he'd progressively become more paranoid the longer he was a parent. Sure, that was probably due to how much trouble Dick seemed to attract, but Jason was still verging on neurotic at times. 'I'm sure it's nothing.' He repeated. He would find Dick during their first break.

When the bell rang, he practically bounced on his toes as he waited for his girlfriend, then hurried her out of the room.

'What's the hurry?' she asked. He didn't answer, instead, he scanned the corridor as they walked to where they usually met up as a group. Max was already waiting for them.

'Have you seen Dick?' asked Terry.

'Alright, what's going on? Asked Dana. 'What's wrong with Dick?'

Max's eyebrows raised on her forehead, her gaze looking beyond them. She nodded her head towards it and they glanced in their direction. Dick was walking slowly towards them; his arms were hugging himself and he had his head bowed. The closer he came, the sicklier he looked.

That was what Jason meant. Terry thought.

'Where have you been dude?' he went to place a hand on Dick's shoulder, but the other male shrank back like a wounded animal that was afraid to be touched. Terry lowered his hand, not wanting to draw attention to Dick's reaction. Together they all made their way to their usual spot on the bleachers in the gym. All through the half-hour break, the girls chatted with Terry contributing every few minutes but for the most part, he kept his eyes on Dick. The boy from the ice looked dazed, his usually straight posture was slouched, and he remained silent until the bell rang for them to return to class.

They all stood and walked towards the door, but as Dick stood, he gasped and caught himself on the bench in front of him.

'Dick?' Terry went over to him. 'Are you alright?' He expected him to give his usual "I'm fine" response. The same one he had given every time Terry had asked him that question since the first day, he had met him. But Dick gripped the bench, his breathing coming in shallow gasps.

'No.' he said, wincing again. 'No, I'm not alright.' He looked up at his friend, his yellow eyes filled with pain. 'Terry, can you call my dad?'

Terry nodded, pulling out his phone and walking back towards the girls where the sound was less echoing.

Jason answered the phone on the second ring, he had clearly been keeping an eye on his phone all morning.

' _Terry?'_

'Jason, Dick's not looking so good. I think you should come and get him.' Said Terry.

' _Does he know you are calling me?'_

'He asked me too.'

' _I'm on my way.'_

Terry hung up the phone and turned back to his friends.

'He's on his way, Dick…Dick?'

Dick had gone very pale, his eyes glazed over, and he looked unsteady. Terry lurched forward and caught him as he fell, laying him down on the floor on his side. He ripped off his jacket and put it under Dick's head.

'Go get help.' He said to the girls, they both ran from the gym.

Terry leant over his friend, tapping him lightly on the side of the face.

'Dick? Dick come on, wake up.'

Dick groaned and opened his eyes, letting out a small whimper when a wave of pain greeted him back to consciousness.

'Where does it hurt Dick?'

'Back.' Dick breathed. 'Under my ribs.'

Terry gently touched Dick's slender back, when his fingers made contact, Dick winced.

'Dick.' Terry breathed. 'That's your kidneys.'

'I know.' Dick had known he was in trouble when he had rushed to the bathroom during second period. The pain that had been building since the night before had finally become too much. He had emptied the stomach acid from his body, burning his throat in the process. He had leant against the stall door for several long minutes before he had had the urge to relieve himself. It was only then that he realised that was the first time that day. He'd stared down at the red liquid in the toilet basin. Blood. He was pissing blood.

He tidied himself up and went and stood at the sink, looking at his reflection in the mirror. The pain, the nausea, the blood. With his electrum capable of healing most illnesses, his ailment could only mean one thing. His kidneys were failing.

He explained this to Terry.

'It's going to be alright.' Said Terry, trying to bring conviction into the words.

A tear slid from Dick's eyes. 'No, it's not.'

The girls returned with Mr Willbourne in tow. Their teacher knelt down next to Terry.

'Getting yourself into trouble again are we Richard?' Said Willbourne, surveying his student. He glanced up at Terry and saw the teen looked like he had seen a ghost. 'Can you move Dick?'

Dick tried to sit up, but the pain spiked, and he whimpered.

'I'll take that as a no.' When Dick tried again, Willbourne rested a hand on his shoulder. 'No, just lie still Dick. Your father is on his way.'

'Shouldn't we call an ambulance?' asked Dana.

Terry knew that Willbourne wouldn't have called one. There was a note in Dick's file that if anything like this should happen that they were to call first Jason and if he did not answer they were to call the family doctor. Jason's reasoning for this had been to keep Dick safe from the media and kidnappers, but the truth was to avoid anyone discovering that Gotham High's newest student wasn't human.

Dick shivered and Willbourne removed his own jacket, draping it over the younger's torso. He felt Dick's forehead, a frown instantly on his face.

'Miss Gibson?'

Max drew her attention to him.

'Could you find a towel and collect some ice from the ice machine please?' he said the words gently, but Terry could see he was concerned. Max disappeared, reappearing several minutes later with the requested items. Willbourne took them from her with a nod of thanks. He placed the cold towel on Dick's forehead. Dick instantly fought against the ice in panic.

'Richard, it's just ice.' Said Willbourne. 'You're very hot, we need to bring your fever down.'

Dick still seemed very agitated, so Terry lay down next to him, so they were facing each other. He took hold of Dick's hands and kept eye contact with him. Dick's eyes were very unfocused, and Terry couldn't help wondering how his friend had gotten so ill so quickly.

'I got you, Dick.' Said Terry, keeping hold of his friends' hands as Willbourne made contact with the ice to his skin again. After the initial shock of the cold had passed, he saw Dick relax into the sensation. He was glad that it was making Dick more comfortable but knowing how sensitive Dick was to the cold it was worrying that it was making him feel better. How high was Dick's fever?

Dick was muttering to himself under his breath, Terry listened but it sounded like another language. Suddenly Dick's eyes opened.

'Dad.' He said.

'He's coming Dick.' Said Willbourne, but Terry looked towards the door. Sure enough, Jason was running down the corridor.

'Jay!' he shouted, then looked down at Dick. 'He's here Dick.'

Jason ran over, falling to his knees next to them. Terry got up and made room for him.

'Jason.' Said Willbourne. Jason looked up at the teacher.

'Jack isn't it?' Jason said, recognising the man from his school days.

Jack nodded and then looked back down to Dick. 'His fever is very high and he is in a lot of pain.'

'The pain is coming from his kidneys.' Terry whispered. Jason looked at him in alarm and understanding. Pulling his emotions back he turned to Jack.

'I'm taking him home…'

'I'll sort it, don't worry. Just keep us posted on his condition.' Said Jack. He stood and backed away leaving his favourite student in the capable hands of his father.

Once they were alone, Jason turned to Terry. 'Call Wally, tell him we are on our way to the mountain. Explain the situation.'

Terry nodded, pulling out his phone and moving away.

'Dick.' Jason put his face closer to the youngers. 'I'm going to carry you to the car.' He placed his hands on the younger body, but he flinched and moaned in pain. 'I'm sorry, but we need to get you medical attention.'

Dick eyed him sadly. 'It's over.' He whispered, tears spilling from his eyes. 'They all died.'

'You are not going to die, Dick.' Jason said sternly. 'We are going to get you help.'

'I'm scared.'

'It's ok to be scared. That's why you've got me.' He touched Dick gently again. 'Are you ready?'

Dick nodded and moaned as Jason lifted him into his arms. 'Terry get the doors.'

They saw very few people as they made their way to the car, but Terry knew it wouldn't take many people to spread the news around the school. By this time tomorrow, the whole campus would know that the new kid had collapsed. Then a terrible thought entered Terry's mind. Would Dick ever return to Gotham High?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dick lay on the white sheets of the mountain's med bay, a mask over his mouth feeding him oxygen and needles in his arms feeding him fluids and morphine. Jason sat beside him, kneading his hands together. Dick had passed out on the way to the car and hadn't yet regained consciousness, which was a small mercy considering how many needles they had been stabbing into his flesh. Jason knew how much he hated needles.

Wally walked over to him and lay a hand on his shoulder. 'It's not your fault Jay.'

'Isn't it?' He shook his head. 'I knew there was something wrong with him this morning. I should have insisted he stayed home.

'It wouldn't have made any difference.' Said Wally sadly. Jason snapped his head to look at him and saw the paper in his hands with all Dick's blood work. Wally sat down next to him.

'Dick's kidneys are failing. He's gone into acute renal failure.' He explained slowly.

'What can we do?'

'We can put him on dialysis, it might slow down the process.' Wally was treading careful ground, he didn't want Jason to lose it. The Red Hood's temper was legendary.

'What do you mean slow the process?' The next few minutes turned Jason's world upside down.

'Jason…I tested Dick again for the virus. He tested positive.' Said Wally, keeping his breathing even, he could not lose his cool. 'With the other Talon's their kidneys were the first to fail, but it was always closely followed by their other organs. They began having seizures, internal bleeding, collapsing lungs…' he trailed off. What had finally killed the Talon's had been the septic shock. When the blood that had carried the electrum had finally become poison itself.

'We have to cure him.' Jason said desperately.

'We are trying everything we can Jason, the whole league is pulling together. I'm just preparing you for the worst outcome.'

'He was doing so well, Wally.' Jason said, his voice cracking. 'He was recovering from what they did to him.'

'It's not over Jay. As long as Dick is still fighting there is hope.'

Jason nodded. 'Do what you need to do.'

Wally left him alone and Jason took Dick's hand in his own. He would not let Dick die. Not like this.

 **A/N: ...Guys come on, this is a Karin Matthew's story. Of course, it wasn't going to be all happy sappy ending! We have reached the final phase of this story, grab your tissues and enjoy ;). Please review, Karin x**


	27. Chapter 27

His eyes opened slowly, the light of the room making him wince. Piece by piece he became aware of his body. He ached all over, he felt weak. Memories flooded back of being tied to a bed, a floating voice, they were making him a monster. He looked down and saw tubes of red coming from his arm.

'No' He breathed, moving his arms to fight off whatever they were trying to do to him, but then someone took hold of them. 'No'.

'Dick, calm down. It's alright.' The voice was soft, not like the voice from before. He concentrated, and the room came more into focus, clean and white. He felt a mask over his mouth and a cold cloth on his forehead. A woman was standing over him, his wrists in her hands.

'Annie?'

'Shh. You're alright, you're safe.' She brushed the hair from his face. He looked up into her tired face and it all came flooding back. He was dying.

He looked down at the tubes in his arm, noticing for the first time there were more in his other.

'Wally put you on dialysis to help your kidneys.' Annie said. 'He also hooked you up to morphine to help with the pain.'

He licked his lips, the oxygen from the mask had made them dry. Noticing this Annie pulled the mask back and offered him a straw. He sucked gratefully at the offered water.

'Where's Jay?' he wheezed.

'He's in the lab. He'll be here in a bit, I texted him when you started to stir.' She said, replacing the mask once he had finished with the water.

The lab? Why was he in the lab?

'How long have I been on this?' he asked, nodding down to the red tubes.

'Only a few hours.' She sat down again in the chair by his bed but kept hold of his hand. 'Wally will be around soon to hook you up to some fluids as well, give your kidneys some TLC.' She smiled, but Dick could see the strain.

'You look tired.' Said Dick, his voice sounded weird under the plastic mask.

'I'll be alright.' She smiled, it was typical of Dick to worry about others more than himself. 'How do you feel? Are you in any pain?'

He shook his head slowly. 'Just sore.' He said. 'Is Terry ok? I think I freaked him out.'

'He's doing ok, he's worried about you. We all are.'

'What's the diagnosis?' He said as casually as he could. His theory was confirmed when he saw water well in her eyes. She choked on a sob. Dick had never seen Annie this emotional.

'Hey,' he said as tears slid down her face. He gripped her hand. 'Don't cry Annie, please don't.'

'I'm sorry.' She said, apologising in a way only the British could.

'Please don't cry.' He repeated, his mask fogging up with every word. 'It breaks me to see you cry.'

She gripped his hand, lowering her head to kiss it. 'You're a great kid, you know that Dick.'

It's then that Jason walked in, he strode up to the bed only slowing down when he was a few feet away. Then he carefully lowered himself down onto the side of the bed. Dick looked weak and childlike lying there covered in tubes and wires.

'Hey.' He said gently.

'Hey.' Dick repeated in his muffled voice.

'Scared us all a bit there, kiddo.' Jay said, and Dick could see the pain behind his eyes.

'I've got it. Haven't I.' It wasn't a question.

Jason took a deep breath and nodded. 'Yeh, the virus has shut down your kidneys. Both of them.'

'Will this help?' he lifted his arm with the red wires.

'Wally hopes it will slow the process, but it won't stop the virus.' He was talking carefully. Dick was taking this all pretty well, but he could already see the cracks when Dick's lips trembled slightly.

'My increase in electrum, it triggered it didn't it?'

Jason nodded. 'We think so. Because you were stronger than the others, we think it was on even ground with the virus for a while, holding it off. But after your fight with Powers, you depleted your stores and there wasn't enough left to keep up the fight.'

A single tear fell from Dicks' eye.

'So, if I'd listened to you... if I hadn't gone out that night…'

'No, no, no.' Jason said, climbing on the bed next to Dick and wrapping his arms around him gently as the boy began to shake. 'If you hadn't gone out that night, Terry would have been killed. None of this is your fault.'

'I'm going to die. Like the rest of them.' It was ironic. When he was faced with eternity all he wanted to do was die. Now he was faced with death all he wanted to do was live.

'We are going to fix this Dick, I promise.'

'Don't make promises you can't keep.' Dick whispered, the side of his face pressed into Jason's side. There was silence because they all knew he was right.

'Is this a bad time?' Wally had popped his red head around the door. 'I want to start flushing Dick's kidneys. The sooner the better.'

'Wally come in.' said Annie, she got out from her chair and moved out of the way, so Wally could set up his tools. A bag of saline, an IV and an IV needle.

Jason was about to move out of the way as well when Dick grabbed him, his eyes on the needles.

'Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.' Said Jason, he looked at Wally, who nodded that he was fine where he was.

'I'll be a quick as I can Dick.'

Giving Dick an apologetic look, Wally began prepping the area. He sighed when Dick's arm flinched violently as he touched his arm with the alcohol swab. He hated this. He knew how afraid Dick was of needles, hell, if he'd been changed into a Talon against his will he would probably be scared too. But it wasn't the court making him scared now, it was him.

He lifted the needle to the flesh but when Dick once again flinched, Wally looked to Jason for help. Jason took hold of Dick's arm to hold it still. When Dick went to flinch again but felt his arm being restrained, the panic flooded his body. The world melted away and he was back with the Court.

 _Pain rocked his body, making it feel heavy. He looked down and saw the tubes coming from his arms, pumping golden liquid into his veins, causing them to burn._

 _He tried to move his limbs, but they were too heavy. No, not heavy, he was tied down, his arms and legs held with leather straps._

 _He fought against them, wanting to pull the tubes from his body._

' _Help!' he screamed._

' _He is not coming Gray Son. You belong to us now' The voice had had no face, it seemed to float all around him. 'The process is almost complete. Once we have finished, you will be indestructible. You will be our greatest weapon.'_

'Dick! Dick, are you with me?' Jason was suddenly in front of him, his green eyes filled with concern. When he saw Dick become more focused, he stroked the side of his face. 'That's it, stay with me, Buddy.'

'What?' Dick mumbled.

'You had a flashback, but you're ok.' He said, still keeping eye contact, green staring into gold.

'I'm finished.' Wally stood, eyes still wide with worry.

'There. All done Dick. You're all done.'

Dick looked over each person in the room, noticing the bruise beginning to bloom on Wally's jaw.

'You lashed out.' Said the speedster. 'But it wasn't your fault Dick.' He said quickly upon seeing Dick's distressed face. 'I should have known restraining you like that would have caused a flashback.'

'I'm sorry.' Said Dick.

'It's ok. Just rest now.' Said Wally, he could see the small fight Dick had put up had drained him. 'Hopefully, when you wake up again, you will feel a little better.'

They all watched as slowly Dick fell back into sleep.

It was several hours later that Wally went to check on the sleeping Talon. He checked the monitors on the machines and then sat next to the bed and checked his pulse. Dick's pulse was usually quite slow anyway, but it was now dangerously so. He glanced up, jumping in his seat when a pair of golden eyes stared back at him.

'Jesus.' Wally said, a hand on his heart. 'Cough or something next time would ya.'

Dick didn't say anything but continued to stare.

'Are you feeling any better?' Wally asked.

Dick shrugged. He felt like crap still, but maybe a little less crap, it had taken the edge off.

Wally suddenly frowned, he leant closer and Dick leant back as much as he could.

'Dick, open your eyes wide.'

Dick frowned, narrowing his eyes for a moment but then relented and opened them wide. Wally apologised and then shone a small light in them. When the light vanished, Dick blinked rapidly.

'Jason.' Wally called, Jason instantly came running. 'Look at this.' He asked Dick to open his eyes again.

'Oh my god.' Said Jason. 'You don't think?

'What?' said Dick, getting a little pissed off now.

'Dick your eyes, it's not much but…they're turning green.' Jason was staring at him like a rare animal in a zoo, he turned to Wally. 'Take a blood sample.' Wally complied, dashing off to get the tools.

'Um, hello?' said Dick, now fully awake.

'Sorry Dick, but this is really important.'

Wally returned, and Dick eyed the needles warily. Had they forgotten his panic attack no more than a few hours ago?

'Jason?' said Dick, the older man didn't respond. 'Dad!'

Wally pulled a hypothermic needled from its wrapping and Dick pushed himself away from the redhead. His fear was renewed, he didn't want to have another flashback, he didn't want to be back there again.

'Dick it won't take a second.' Said Jason, he understood Dick's fear, but this test could change everything. When they both moved forward Dick moved back further and when Jason tried to take his arm, Dick physically screamed.

Annie came running in, she had been taking a nap in the next room but her motherly instinct had jolted her into action when she heard the cry.

'What the hell are you doing?' she asked. She pushed passed the men and sat beside Dick who clung to her like a koala. The action was out of character for him and she glared at the other two.

'What are you trying to do?' she demanded, 'Scare him to death!'

Jason explained their theory, but her angry expression did not soften towards them. She looked down at the teen whose head was buried in her shoulder. 'I've got you, Dickie.'

She held him close to her chest, making sure his arm was still accessible. She stroked his hair and began softly humming. As Jason watched her, he recognised the song as 'Baby Mine' from the old _Dumbo_ movie. She repeated the song several times before Dick finally relaxed. With his head still held to her chest and her arms keeping him close, Annie nodded to them to continue.

As fast as he could without hurting Dick, Wally inserted the needle into his wrist, the only available space, and drew a sample. He then rushed it to be tested.

Annie didn't move when he left, she remained cradling the child humming softly. Only when Dick's breathing evened out and he was asleep did she stop.

'Jason, what would you do if I locked you in a small dark room?' she said quietly.

'I would probably have a panic attack.' Jason admitted.

'Why?'

'It would remind me of waking up in my own grave.'

'You know where I'm going with this?'

He nodded, coming to help her lay Dick back down and tuck him under the covers.

'I'm sorry. I should have been more understanding. Gentler.' He sighed running a hand through his hair. 'I got caught up in the moment.'

Before Annie could answer, Wally came speeding back in.

'Jay, you were right.' He practically threw the paper at the Bat. 'The virus count has gone down. When the dialysis cleans the blood, it removes the electrum and the virus can't survive without it.' He points to another graph. 'When the blood re-enters the body, it is slowly re-contaminated, but there is a period of time when it has no electrum. That's why Dick's eyes are changing colour. Less electrum, less Talon.'

Jason jumped up from his seat, grabbing the sheet from the redhead. 'No electrum, no virus. It's only attacking where the strongest quantities of electrum are. If we can clean his blood of it completely…'

Annie joined them, looking down at the data for herself.

'We can cure him.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Annie sat at her desk. With Dick safely tucked up in bed at the mountain under the watchful eye of West, she had returned to the office to collect some work for her to take home, knowing she would not likely be returning for a while. She put her head in her hands and groaned. When had life become so complicated?

Sitting up tall again she pushed the mouse of her computer and the screen came to life. Her desktop showed a picture that made her breath catch in her throat for a moment. It was a picture of Jason, Dick and herself. Jason hadn't wanted to take a picture, he'd blatantly refused to pose so she had thrown herself down onto his lap and pressed her lips to his cheek while Dick came from behind with the camera, his chin resting on Jason's shoulder as he took the picture. Despite Jason's screwed up face, it was a moment of pure happiness captured forever. How many more moments like that did they have? As her fingers came to rest on the keys her thoughts went back to her first days in America, when she had come over to care for her Great Uncle.

She had been at rock bottom, her engagement over, fired from her job, not able to go home because she had long ago chosen the life of an agent over the ties to her kin. She had nothing, nowhere to go and only one person in her life who would understand. Alfred.

In a matter of days after being released from the secret service, she was on a plane to the States and had never looked back.

 **5 Years ago**

' **Hi, is that Bruce?'**

' **No, who's this?' The voice sounded crackly on the hands-free in the car and she was fighting to hear it above the noise of the rain.**

' **It's Annie.' She corrected herself. 'Anastasia. Alfred's niece.'**

' **Oh sure, Ana. What's up?'**

 **She bit back the urge to correct the name Ana, she hated it.**

' **I'm on my way to the manor, but I'm a little lost.' Nothing in this country made any sense…but she kept that bit to herself. 'I'm not sure where I am, there are no signs.'**

' **Do you have one of the latest navigators in your phone?' the male voice asked.**

' **Yeh, but it's no help, it doesn't recognise the address. Are you guys in a dead zone?'**

' **Kind of. Give me a sec.' There were shuffles on the other end of the phone. 'Ok, I've got you. Take the next left and follow the road up to the next crossroad.'**

' **Wait how do you know where I am?' she asked, startled.**

' **GPS in your phone.'**

' **You tracked my phone!'**

 **The voice sighed, sounding tired. 'Do you want directions or not?'**

' **Yes, yes, I'm sorry.' She followed his directions, off the main roads and further and further away from the city. Finally, she pulled up in the driveway of the looming house. In the dark and the rain, it looked almost foreboding.**

 **No sooner had she stopped the car, the front door opened, and a man ran out into the rain with an umbrella, he stopped at her car door.**

' **Anastasia, I presume?' he grinned, he was around her age maybe a little older. Alfred had said Mr Wayne had several children, she guessed this man was one of them.**

' **Yes, please call me Annie.' As she grabbed her phone from the holder on the dashboard, the man checked out the interior of her car.**

' **Stick?' he said.**

' **Sorry?'**

' **You drive a stick.'**

 **It took her a few more moments to realise what he was on about. 'Oh, the gears? Yes, it's pretty standard back in England.' A weird look crossed over his face. 'What?'**

' **Nothing. You're just the second person I've met who prefers to drive that way.' There was a sad tone to his voice and she decided not to pry.**

 **She got out of the car and the man helped her with her bags, bringing them into the huge foyer of the manor.**

' **Annie!' The familiar voice of her Uncle almost brought tears to her eyes. It was so good to see someone familiar in this strange new place. Sure, she had travelled a lot with the service but that had been under false names and with someone talking in her ear the entire time. To be here as Anastasia Pennyworth and without the protection of the service, she felt strangely exposed.**

' **Uncle Alfred.' She crossed the remaining space between herself and the old man hobbling towards her with a stick. Despite the obvious frailty to his body, he wrapped her in a warm hug.**

' **You've gotten so thin.' He remarked. 'And what's this?' he gestured to her short brown hair that barely brushed the tips of her ears.**

' **I needed a change.'**

' **Anastasia, it's good to finally meet you.' A strong voice came from above and she looked up to see Bruce Wayne walking down the staircase. She knew his face from the many pictures she had seen of him. Unlike his sons, he was very much on show to the world. She shook his hand, keeping her grip strong, wanting to make a good impression.**

' **I see you've already met Jason.'**

 **They both glanced back at the man that had shown her in. So, this was Jason, the eldest.**

 **Bruce showed her to her room, up the staircase and through the maze of corridors. As they passed rooms, he told her what they were or who they belonged to. Jason's room, Tim's, Damian's, the study, his office. He remained silent as they passed another door and she couldn't help but slow her pace.**

' **What's this room?' she asked. Bruce stopped and looked at the door. She could see he was wrestling with himself. Finally, he seemed to decide. He took a deep breath and opened the door, gesturing that she should go in.**

 **The room was a bedroom, a large four poster bed the main feature. It was clean and tidy, but very obviously a teenager's room. Books lined the shelves along with old video games and dvds. There was a desk with school books neatly stacked in one corner with pencils and pens in a silver pot in the other. On the bed, there was a small, old stuffed elephant looking lost against the mass of pillows on the large bed. On the wall, there was a fading poster of the Flying Grayson's.**

' **This was Dick's room.' Bruce said sadly from behind her.**

' **Dick?'**

' **My son Richard.' Bruce swallowed. 'He disappeared around 15 years ago now.'**

 **A memory stirred, she remembered her family talking about Alfred and a missing boy. But she had been so young at the time, she hadn't really taken it all in.**

' **How old was he?' she asked quietly.**

' **16.'**

' **I'm so sorry.' She looked around the room again. 'Thank you for showing me.'**

' **It's alright. The room isn't locked, I know Damian comes in here every once in a while, and I'm sure the others do too…I know I do.' They exited the room.**

 **She could see the man before her was saddened by the memory, so she decided to ask Alfred about it later.**

 **They passed another room and Bruce knocked heavily on the door. 'This is what we call the pit.' He grinned. The door opened, and a pale face looked out from the dark room.**

' **Tim, this is Annie.'**

' **Hi,' said Tim, straitening himself up a bit. 'Welcome to America.' He stepped out from the door and Annie looked him over. He was her age, late '20s, had black hair and grey eyes and looked like he hadn't slept or changed in about a week.**

' **Sorry,' he said, catching her glance. 'I'm working on a new project.'**

' **Tim is a workaholic.' Bruce explained.**

' **I'm not.' Tim interjected as Bruce turned away.**

' **He's also in denial.' Bruce whispered.**

' **I heard that!'**

 **The tour continued and finally, she was left alone to unpack, which was when Alfred made a reappearance. He came in an sat in the armchair in the corner of her room.**

' **Settling in?' he said.**

 **She nodded, then bit her lip. 'What happened to Richard?'**

 **Alfred nodded as though he expected her to ask this question. Digging in his pocket he brought out a small leather item, it contained pictures of those he held dear. He opened it up to a particular photo and handed it to her. The picture was of a boy no more than 12 with startling blue eyes and jet-black hair that was sticking up at a weird angle. It took Annie a few seconds to realise she was holding the picture the wrong way up; the boy was hanging upside down and smiling broadly at the camera.**

' **Master Richard was a charming child. Master Bruce took him in when he was 8 after his parents were killed during a trapeze act that had been tampered with.'**

 **The Flying Grayson's. She remembered the poster on the wall.**

' **Throughout his childhood, he adored Master Bruce but moving into his teenage years they began to butt heads. Finally, when Master Dick had just turned 16, he ran away.'**

 **Annie sat down on the bed and listened to the story intently.**

' **It didn't take long to find him, he was in Jump city and had moved into a safe place with some likeminded people his age. I think one of Master Bruce's ultimate regrets is choosing to leave him there. But the boy was happy and thriving, so we had all felt it was the right thing to do.'**

' **What happened?'**

' **He was taken.' Said Alfred, looking down at his hands that were wrapped around his walking stick. 'In the middle of the night, he was kidnapped. And we never found him.'**

' **That's awful.' She looked back at the picture. The idea that the smiling boy captured in the image had been through so much pain did not settle well in her stomach. 'Do you think he's still alive?' as soon as she asked the question, she wished she could take it back. Pain flashed over her uncle's face.**

' **I hope not.' Alfred said quietly. 'The idea that he has been alive for fifteen years waiting for us to rescue him is too much for me to bear.'**

 **She had dropped the matter after that and did not bring it up again. There were pictures of Richard all over the house. The family clearly wanted to keep his memory close and not let time fade him away. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a child, especially not like that.**

 _A/N: I was going to do a little more in Annie's flashback, but then I thought it might make a nice prequal to this story if people would enjoy reading that? Please review with your thoughts, it helps me know I am taking the story in the right direction! Karin x_


	28. Chapter 28

'Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes.' Bruce couldn't help but smile as he sank down into the cushion chair that had been placed by Dick's hospital bed.

Dick was sat crossed legged on the bed, he had been listening to music until the older man had walked in. Now that his hearing was less sensitive, he found it bearable to listen to it with headphones, and since he hadn't been allowed to do much else over the last week, it was a way of passing the time during his dialysis.

Wally had placed him on schedule for treatment. Hours and hours of blood cleaning, trying to clear his blood of electrum. But no matter how long or how often they kept him on the machine, there was always a plateau. A limit to how clean his blood would get. It was evident that dialysis alone was not going to cure him, but it gave him a few hours of relief, both from sickness and from being a Talon. And it was working, although slightly tired Dick looked a lot better. If you didn't know him, it would be difficult to know he was sick at all. Jason had the boy under lockdown, controlling everything from what he ate to what he did during the time he wasn't on dialysis. He wasn't taking any chances on Dick accidentally activating his electrum and sending his body into shut down. But anyone could see the once very active teenager was bored out of his skull.

Dick grinned when Bruce handed him a Spearo; the cookie bar that had been his first meal after waking up from the ice had fast become his favourite treat.

'Don't tell Jason…or Annie for that matter.' Bruce chuckled. Dick's eyes sparkled as he accepted the secret between them. His eyes had become a pretty good indicator of how he was feeling. After a session of treatment, his eyes were a collage of gold and green flecks. The more electrum that returned to his blood, the more yellow his eyes became. Right now, they were awash with the two colours, showing it hadn't been long since the tubes were removed.

As Dick sat there nibbling on the chocolate, Bruce noticed the mountain of books on his bedside table.

'You've been busy.' He commented. 'Have you read all of those?'

Dick nodded. 'There isn't much else I'm allowed to do.' He chewed his next bite. 'Raven comes by every few days to bring me more.'

'Oh?' Bruce wasn't aware that the empath was spending time around the mountain, she usually stayed in Jump with the Titans.

'I think Tim asked her to come.' Dick said, clearly noticing the others confused expression. 'If there is anyone who knows how to control fear and panic attacks, it's Rae.'

'Did she help?'

'Well I've managed to go a whole week of dialysis treatment and blood tests without punching Wally in the face again…' he trailed off, folding the wrapper between his fingers.

'You need to get out of this room.' Said Bruce.

'Good luck getting around your son.' Said Dick.

'I've been handling that boy since he was 10 years old, I'll manage.' He stood up and walked out of the room, heading in the direction of the lab where Jason had been spending the majority of his time. He returned about ten minutes later and gave the boy a thumbs up.

'You're kidding me.' Dick threw his legs off the bed and scrambled to standing.

'He doesn't want you leaving the mountain, but he agrees it will be good for you to walk around.' Said Bruce, he wrapped an arm around Dick's shoulders as they walked towards the living area of the Mountain. For the moment, Dick was doing alright so he instead shifted his concern to Jason. His son had been spending every waking moment either at Dick's side or in the lab working on a way to cure the virus. He could understand, he would be a hypocrite if he didn't, but he was still worried that Jason was pushing himself too hard. They didn't need two family members sick.

As they walked, he texted Annie his concern, if anyone could handle Jason it was Anastasia Pennyworth.

As they drew closer to the living room a face peered around the corner. Upon seeing who was coming, Ben slowly walked out into the corridor and approached them. His slow, controlled movements had Dick on edge. It was strange to see a speedster move so slowly. Once the redhead was close enough, Dick could see a layer of tears in the boy's eyes. Suddenly Ben wrapped his arms around Dick, burying his head in his chest and began to sob.

'Ben, what's wrong?' asked Dick.

'I heard you were really sick.' The boy sobbed, 'I thought I was never going to see you again!'

Dick looked startled for a long moment, seemingly unsure about how to deal with the sobbing boy. Finally, he wrapped his arms around Ben's back.

'It's okay, Ben. I'm doing alright.' The words sounded false, even to his own ears. 'Come on,' he said, pulling the teenager away from his chest. 'I haven't been allowed to play video games all week.'

With a new direction to focus his mind, Ben seemed to return to his usual self slightly. He spoke to Dick a mile a minute about a new game he had just brought after saving up his allowance for weeks. Dick walked with him to the TV room where they could set up the game.

Deciding that there was nothing more important right at that moment than seeing Dick enjoy himself, Bruce followed and settled himself on the couch to watch the two play together.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'I thought Tim was the workaholic.' Annie put her bag down on a spare chair and walked over to her boyfriend at the computer. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind him and kissed the side of his face. 'It's time for a break.'

'I can't stop.' Said Jason. 'We don't know how long Dick has.'

'Jason Todd, you are exhausted. You are no good to Dick if you are too tired to function.'

She turned the chair around, forcing him to look at her.

'It's time to take a break.'

'But, Dick…'

'Is fine. For the moment.' She touched the side of his face. 'You, on the other hand, are nearly breaking.'

Jason looked up at the beautiful face, the raised eyebrows and tight smile. She was stressed, he could see the tiredness under her eyes. She was also right, he too was tired. Before she had entered the lab, he had re-read the same sentence of his research three times.

'What did you have in mind?'

'You are taking me out to dinner.' She informed him, standing tall once again and going to collect her bag. It didn't take Jason long to warm to the idea.

'We are not going back to that vegan place.' He said.

'What was wrong with it?' She had enjoyed her meal and moreover, she had enjoyed watching the man attempt to eat his meal.

'They didn't serve stake.' Jason said, rising from his chair and following her out of the door. They walked through the mountain towards the zeta beams, passing the TV room. Jason popped his head around the door as he went.

West's kid was standing in front of the TV with a controller in his hands, his face contorted with concentration. Sat on the couch behind him, Bruce was chuckling as Dick beat the Speedster at his own game, literally. Dick was on the couch too, a control in his hands and his legs crossed under him, he was sat as close to Bruce as he could be without sitting on the older man's lap.

'What! No! How are you so good at this?' Ben cried. 'I taught you how to play these!'

'The student has become the master.' Chuckled Dick, ending the game and raising his arms above his head in victory.

The redhead turned to face him and pouted. 'That is so not fair. Dad's right, you must hack the games.'

Jason smiled at the exchange and proceeded to follow his girlfriend to the zeta beams.

They dined at one of their favourite Italian restaurants in Gotham; laughing over a glass of wine each and for the first time in a while they felt like the young couple they were. Neither of them begrudged the young Talon for taking up so much of their time. They both loved their surrogate son more than either could fully explain. But they had all been thrust into this situation and it was nice to take a moment to step away from the chaos.

'Can I interest you in another glass of wine?' asked the waiter, his accent heavy with the sounds of Italy.

'No, thank you. We should really be getting back.' Said Jason.

'Ah,' said the waiter, nodding in understanding. 'The children waiting at home?'

'Something like that.' Said Annie, winking at Jay. They paid their bill and headed into the beginnings of the night. The clouds had gathered in the sky making the night seem darker. They walked along the river, hand in hand, enjoying the silence of each other's presence. A few wet drops landed on her head and Annie looked up to the sky as the rain began to fall.

'Come on, let's get back to the car.' Said Jason, but Annie held him back.

'No, wait a moment.' She closed her eyes, letting the rain patter on her face. 'The rain reminds me of England.'

Jason paused, this was the first time in a long time that Annie had mentioned her home. He watched her enjoy the rain, barely feeling it himself as he stood to wait.

'Do you miss it?' he asked quietly. 'Your home?' He could understand if she did, she had had a life there before she came to America and she hadn't been back since.

'There is nothing there for me anymore.' Annie said, looking back at him. She crossed the distance. 'This is my home now. You are my home.' She kissed him, letting her body mould against his. In all the time she had been with Darren, she had never felt as safe as she did when she was in Jason's arms.

Neither of them particularly remembered the car ride home, before they knew it, they were in Jason's room, kissing and fumbling with their clothes. Jason's fingers fluttered over the scar on her stomach from the bullet wound and she shivered.

'Did I hurt you? He whispered. She responded by pulling him down on the bed and kissing him with more desperation.

At that moment, there was only the other, everything else melted away.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The first thing Jason felt when he woke was the warmth of Annie in his arms. The next thing he felt was alarm.

'Shit!' He sat up, causing Annie to sit dazed for a few moments as her mind caught up with her body.

'What?'

'I forgot about Dick!' He stood and began pulling his clothes back on. They had fallen asleep and it was now three hours past the time that Dick was being put back onto dialysis. Although Dick had gotten a lot better with the needles and procedures since his sessions with Raven, he still needed someone to be there with him for support.

Jason checked his phone, expecting there to be hundreds of missed calls but found only a single text from Bruce.

' _ **Enjoy your night. – B'**_

Annie didn't try to stop him as he grabbed his shoes and ran through the house to head down to the cave. He bounced on his toes, waiting for the zeta beam to charge. When it was ready, he walked into the light and stepped through into the mountain. His pace was a little under a run as he made his way to the med wing. It seemed like a lifetime before he found himself standing outside the room they had set up for Dick. He paused before entering, not wanting his anxious behaviour to have an effect on the teen.

But when he quietly opened the door he stopped in his tracks, taking in the sight that brought a smile to his lips.

Dick was asleep, curled up on his side keeping his arm with the tubes out of harm's way. His head was tucked under Bruce's arm. Bruce was led on the bed, one arm around Dick and the other behind his head. He didn't look particularly comfortable, but at some point, the old man had fallen asleep as well.

Jason watched them for a moment, the site warming his heart. As though sensing someone was there, Bruce stirred from his slumber.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.' Said Jason quietly.

'No, you're alright.' Said Bruce, looking down at the sleeping boy in his arms. One thing that had changed when Dick was turned into a Talon was that he was now a pretty deep sleeper. He didn't wake, as Bruce slowly separated himself from him, lowering the teens head down onto the pillow.

'How was your night?' said Bruce when he was by Jason's side.

'Good, thank you. A much-needed break. How was Dick?'

'He started to get tired after a while. You could practically see his body slump as the pain started to come back.' Bruce said sadly, looking back at the sleeping boy. 'But he was pretty calm when we came back here. He asked where you were but seemed pretty content when I told him you were out with Annie.'

Jason's face showed his guilt.

'Jason, you're only human.' Said Bruce, 'You need a break just like everyone else. Dick knows that and he understood.'

'Thank you for being here.'

'Of course.' Bruce brought his hand to Jason's shoulder. 'I'm just glad this seems to be working for the moment. After only an hour you could literally see the pain start to dissolve.'

Jason nodded then froze. Dissolve. What if...

If they couldn't completely remove the electrum, what if they could dissolve it?

 **A/N Sorry this chapter is a little short, it has been a hell of a week. I'm so glad so many of you were interested in a potential prequel to this story! I will look into it one this story is complete! Please review. K x**


	29. Chapter 29

It had been over a year since they had thawed the boy from the ice. It seemed so long ago now, so much had happened, so much had changed. They had celebrated Dicks 'birthday' with a small gathering at the manor; too many people-tired Dick out so they kept it small and the sick Talon seemed to enjoy himself. Until it had suddenly gone very wrong. With the excitement of the evening, the time had gotten away from them and the time for Dick's treatment came and went. If Dick had felt discomfort before he collapsed, he hadn't shown it. One moment he was thanking Bruce for throwing him the party, the next his eyes were rolling into the back of his head and he was limp in the old man's arms. It took them several hours to get him stable again. Wally said Dick had suffered from a mini seizure. From that moment, the already strict routine they had held over Dick became stricter and the little freedom the bird had had was locked away. He was no longer allowed to leave the mountain, and he was to either be monitored or supervised at all times. It took Dick a week to grow tired of his new rules, after a month he was at breaking point.

'I want to go out.'

'No.'

Dick glared at Jason as the other took a sample of his blood.

'Why not?'

Jason put the cap on the blood sample and stuck some gauze to Dick's arm.

'Because, Dick.'

'Don't start that again.' Said Dick, annoyed that Jason always thought that would be enough of an answer.

'I'm sorry Dick, I'm not risking it.'

'But I miss my friends.' Terry still came to see him, but he missed hanging out with him, Max and Dana. He never thought he would say this, but he missed being able to go to school. Bruce had released a statement that Dick was suffering from a rare blood disease and was too sick to return. At first, Terry had come to see him, bringing get well wishes and news from the school. But after a while it stopped, his classmates were moving on with their lives. Forgetting about the boy who had sat among them for a while.

Jason sighed and put the sample down on the small metal table at his side.

'Dick, we are all trying as hard as we can to make you better. You just have to be patient.'

'But what if you can't make me better.' said Dick, his tone deadly serious. 'What if I die having seen nothing but this room for months.'

'You're not going to die…' Jason's tone held less certainty.

'I'm a prisoner to this machine.' He held up his arm that still had the tubes attached to his flesh. 'I am as trapped here, as I was in the chamber.'

Jason shook his head. 'Just give me some more time.'

'I've had enough of time! Time has been tormenting me since I woke up a year ago.' Dick shouted.

'Watch your tone.' Said Jason.

Dick's jaw tightened, he lay down on the bed and turned his body away from the other man.

'Dick, don't be like that.' Jason received no response. Sighing again he stood, knowing when Dick wanted to be alone. 'Wally will be around in a few hours.'

Dick made no move as his adopted father left the room, but a silent tear ran down his cheek.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Annie sat on the toilet seat, rocking slightly as she waited. The small room that was attached hto her bedroom had never seemed so small and never before had she really noticed how loud the extractor fan whirled.

She looked at the watch that she had balanced precariously over the side of the sink.

20 more seconds.

How had life brought her here? She had been with Darren for nearly four years and had never been in this situation before. She and Jason had been dating a few months.

10 more seconds.

What the hell was she going to do? She wasn't even sure how she felt about this? She was freaking out, that much was evident but somewhere, deep down through the panic, there was a glimmer of happiness. Apart from the Batboys, she had no family. The thought of a family made her heart warm slightly. But it was soon drowned out again by panic as the final seconds ticked by.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1…. She looked down at the object in her hands.

'Shit.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It had been several days since Terry had been to the mountain. When Dick had first had his mini seizure, he had been going in every day to sit with the little bird. However, with exams coming up Terry was getting home after school and either sitting down to study or simply falling asleep from exhaustion, before doing his nightly patrol as Batman.

When he arrived at Dick's room, Jason was just leaving. The older man had a scowl on his face.

'Hey Jay, what's wrong?' asked Terry.

'Dick's not talking to me.' Said Jason, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. 'He'll barely look at me.'

'What happened?'

'We had a fight.' Jason confessed.

'When?'

'Monday morning.'

Terry's eyes widened – it was Friday! Turns out Dick could hold a grudge for quite a while.

'What was the fight about?'

Jason explained how frustrated Dick was becoming after his birthday party and had been asking to go and see his school friends. When Terry raised his eyebrow, Jason went on to explain his fear of Dick pushing his body and risking further complications. Since his seizure at the party, Wally had noticed that the dialysis wasn't working as effectively. They had started taking samples of Dick's blood at the beginning and end of each of his treatments to keep an eye on the virus and electrum count.

He was surprised when Terry's eyebrow did not lower.

'I agree with Dick.' The younger man said.

'What?'

"You've said so yourself, his condition is getting worse.' He hated to be so blunt, but sometimes Jason needed just that. 'There is a chance, and it kills me to say it too Jay, but there is a chance he won't make it. Do you really want his last memories of this earth to be fighting with you and being locked in his room?'

Jason sighed and shook his head.

'Why don't I take him out?' Terry suggested. 'Nothing too strenuous, just a couple of hours in the coffee shop with the girls?'

Jason bit his lip as he considered this.

'Just a couple of hours.'

Terry nodded. 'I know you're worried Jay, but there is such a thing as too overprotective.'

His comment hit home. He was doing it again. It was Bruce's overprotective nature that had caused Dick to run away, leaving him vulnerable to the Owls and ultimately leading to this mess. And here he was, making the same mistakes.

'You're right. Take him out tomorrow, give him a few hours of freedom. Hopefully, he'll be having a better day than today.'

'What happened today?'

'He won't admit it, but he has been feeling dizzy most of the day. He keeps swaying on the spot and closing his eyes when he thinks no one is looking.' In the month since Dick's seizure, they had all learnt that some days were better than others.

'We'll take it steady. Anything happens I have the whole gang on speed dial.' Terry slapped Jason's arm.

Jason nodded. 'Well, that's one unhappy Bat dealt with, on to the next.'

'Who else is unhappy?' Terry gave him a look that said, " _who else have you pissed off_?"

'Annie has been avoiding me all week.' Jason admitted. 'I don't know what I've done!'

'Do we ever?' Terry shrugged, there were often times Dana was mad at him and he had no idea what he had done to upset her.

'Na, Annie isn't normally like that. She isn't one for dramatics. If I'd really upset her, she would just come out and tell me.'

'I'm sure she will tell you when she's ready.' Said Terry, he nodded towards the door. 'Is it alright if I go and see Dick?'

Jason nodded. 'You can try, he's ignoring Wally and I. But he might talk to you, especially if you tell him about tomorrow.'

They parted ways and Jason headed towards the zeta beam. He was tired and the cheap coffee they stocked at the mountain just wasn't going to cut it today. As he entered the kitchen, he saw Annie sipping water at the sink, she looked a little grey.

'Are you ok?' asked Jason, 'Are you sick?'

'No. I think the milk is off, it didn't agree with me.' She said, taking another sip of water.

Jason opened the fridge and sniffed the carton of milk. 'Smells ok to me.'

Annie shrugged and threw the rest of her water down the sink along with her unfinished tea, she washed the glass and mug then put them on the draining board. She looked as exhausted as he felt.

'Why don't you go to bed if you're feeling sick, I'll bring you some dinner a bit later.' He suggested. She nodded, let him kiss her forehead as she passed and headed up to her room. When he went to check on her an hour later, she was asleep.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

They say there is always a last good day. A day before everything falls apart. Most people only know when their last good day was after the event. But when Dick woke up that Saturday morning, he felt it. Somewhere in his mind, he knew, today was his last good day.

Wally came to remove the tubes and for the first time in a week Dick answered his questions and interacted with the redhead. He was too tired to be angry at them anymore.

He dressed slowly, taking time to appreciate every little movement. What if this was the last time he wore a jacket? Wore shoes?

By the time Terry came to get him, he was ready, and his pensive mood was replaced by the excitement of going outside.

'Feeling alright?' asked Terry, mindful of what Jason had told him the day before about Dick's dizzy spells.

'As well as I can.' Said Dick, dodging a direct answer.

'The girls are excited to see you.' Said Terry, as they walked towards the beams.

'I'm looking forward to seeing them as well.' Dick smiled. He hadn't seen either of the girls since his birthday and that had not ended well. When they stepped out of the beam, Dick stumbled.

'Woah!' said Terry, holding him up.

'Just a little dizzy.' Said Dick. 'I'll be ok.' He straightened himself and seemed to be alright again.

'Ok, but if you feel at all unwell, you have to let me know. Promise?'

'Promise.'

Terry looked into his friends' eyes, he could already see the gold bleeding in through the green.

When they entered the coffee shop the girls were on him in moments.

Dana hugged him close and then guided him to one of their usual comfy sofas by the window.

Max held back, turning to whisper to Terry.

'He doesn't look well.' She said quietly.

Terry nodded, already Dick was looking tired and the shadows under his eyes were becoming more pronounced, showing the weight he had lost.

'We won't stay long.' He said, he was worried about Dick, but he didn't want to upset his friend by making him go home. An hour or so wouldn't hurt.

They chatted for a while. Terry sat opposite Dick, so he could keep an eye on him, Dana sat beside Terry and Max sat with Dick. The pink hair teen kept glancing to her side whenever Dick rubbed a hand over his eyes or moved to make himself more comfortable. Dick was far from comfortable; the pain was already returning, and he had an odd feeling that he couldn't quite place. But he pushed it from his mind as best he could, he hadn't been this happy in weeks.

That is until Chelsea and Nelson walked in.

'Hi Dana!' the blonde cried, coming over. Nelson slowly walking behind her. 'Oh my God, Dick! How are you!?'

'Hanging in there.' Dick said. He'd resisted the urge to say, "not dead yet". It was too soon for morbid humour.

Despite Nelson's obvious discomfort, Chelsea perched on the arm of the sofa and chatted away with her friend. Dick tried to follow the conversation, but the strange feeling was rising again, it felt like he was coming down from a great height. It was a weird feeling and not pleasant.

Terry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. These two could win a competition for their gossiping. He looked over at Nelson, who was frowning.

'What's up, Nash?' Terry asked, trying to sound casual.

Nelson didn't answer. Instead, he stood and walked closer, passing him and walking towards Dick.

'Get him up.' He said.

'What?'

'Get him up, we need to get him to the bathroom.' He brought one of his hands under Dick's elbow and the other to the small of his back. 'Todd, can you stand?' Dick didn't answer or even react to him.

'Nelson? What's wrong?' asked Chelsea. He ignored her too, turning back to Terry.

'Now!'

Terry followed his instruction, helping Dick to his feet and heading towards the bathroom. He threw his phone to Max.

'Call Jason.'

When they entered the bathroom, they lowered Dick onto the floor by the sinks. Nelson grabbed paper towels and held them under the cold tap before dabbing Dick's face with them.

'Nash, what the hell is going on?' said Terry, he'd never seen Nelson behave like this, especially not towards Dick.

'Todd.' Nelson turned Dick's head to face him. 'Richard, I think you're about to have a seizure.' Dick's eyes widened. 'You need to remember that you are safe, and we are going to look after you.'

For the first time, Terry saw the glazed look in Dick's eyes. He was barely blinking and didn't seem to be completely in the room. How hadn't he noticed?

Nelson took off his jacket and rolled it into a ball. He remained knelt next to Dick, as though waiting for something.

Dick stared ahead, not really caring why Nelson was helping him. He was more focused on that feeling; the feeling of falling was building, it felt so strange. Then it happened.

'I feel weird.' Dick's eyes rolled into the back of his head, just like they had at the party. But Dick didn't just fall limp this time, his whole body began to spasm. Nelson caught him and guided him onto his side, placing his jacket under his head.

Panic flooded Terry as he watched his friend seize on the floor, he wanted to hold him, to stop him from hurting himself. As though seeing what was going through the others mind, Nelson shook his head.

'Don't touch him, he just needs to ride this out.' He looked at his watch, timing the fit.

'It's alright, Richard. Relax. You're safe.' Said Nelson in an almost brotherly tone.

Finally, the spasms stopped, and Dick's body relaxed but he breathed in pants. He tried to get up, but Nelson told him to stay still for a few minutes.

'How did you know?' Terry asked gently.

'My brother has suffered from seizures for as long as I can remember.' Said Nelson, shrugging. 'You learn to spot them pretty early on.'

'Thank you.' Came a whispered gasp from the floor.

'You're welcome.' They stayed in awkward silence for a few more minutes, then when Dick tried to sit back up, Nelson didn't stop him. Instead, he helped him lean against the wall.

The door opened in a burst, sending it crashing against the wall. Damian ran in, eyes wide and his car keys dangling in his hand. Once he saw Dick, he turned his head back.

'Annie, in here!' He then made his way over to Dick. Nelson stood, moving out of the way.

'What have you gotten yourself into now Richard.'

Dick smiled weakly, 'Just keeping you on your toes Dami.'

'Who's that?' Nelson whispered to Terry.

'That's Damian, Dick's…. uncle.'

'Is that his mom?' a woman ran in, her long brown hair loose around her shoulders and her arms reaching for the boy on the floor.

'Basically.' Terry shrugged, watching as Annie and Damian saw to Dick. 'He had a seizure.'

'Another one?' said Damian with a frown.

'Not like before.' Said Terry. 'A full-on seizure. It was lucky Nelson was here.'

Damian nodded his head towards Nash. 'You have my thanks.' He turned back to Dick, bringing his arms around him to lift him off the floor.

'I can stand.' Said Dick weakly.

'I don't' care.' Said Damian, lifting the teen into his arms.

'I'll go and bring the car around the back.' Said Terry and Dami threw him the keys awkwardly with Dick in his arms. While they waited Annie brushed a hand over Dick's face.

'He's very warm.' She muttered.

'We'll take him straight to Wally.'

' _He_ is right here.' Dick muttered, his head resting against Damian's shoulder. He hated when they talked about him like he wasn't there. The Court had done that too. Spoke about him rather than to him.

'Sorry, Dickie.' She kissed his forehead and then walked over to Nelson who didn't know whether he should stay or leave. 'Thank you, for looking after him.'

Nelson nodded. 'Is he going to be alright?' he asked in a low tone.

Annie opened her mouth but didn't know exactly what to say. Luckily, Terry came back and saved her from needing to answer.

Terry gave Annie the keys and glance back at Dick. His friend was limp in Damian's arms. He looked so small, so broken. He had known Dick was sick for months, but it wasn't until that moment that it had really hit him. Dick was sick, really sick. He watched as they left through the back door. Once they were gone, Nelson went to leave but looked back when he realised Terry wasn't following.

'You coming or what McGinnis?' he said, his usual tone returned.

Terry clenched his hands into fists, trying to hold himself together.

'McGinnis?' Nash walked back over to him. 'You and Todd are pretty tight huh?' Terry nodded. 'Come on Terry, there is nothing more you can do. Let's go find the girls and get out of here. They will call you when they know more.' Terry nodded again and followed Nelson out.

Meanwhile, Damian was driving back towards the Manor with Dick and Annie in the back. Annie put her hand back on Dick's forehead and the young man leant into her touch. He was even hotter than before. His breathing was laboured, and he had a pained expression on his face.

'Annie…' He suddenly sobbed. He could feel that strange feeling building inside him again. He was afraid, he had hated how vulnerable he felt while seizing. 'It's happening again.'

In a moment, Annie had her seat belt off and was on her knees in the footwell of her seat. She undid Dick 's seat belt and lay him down.

'Relax,' she cooed, brushing his hair. 'I'm here, you're safe.' She continued brushing his hair until his body began to violently spasm. Once the seizure started, she removed her hands and shouted behind her.

'Damian, I don't care how many speeding tickets I have to deal with later, step on it. He needs Wally now!'

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The five of them sat in the corner of the coffee shop, all of them holding mugs and none of them talking. It had been several hours since Dick had been rushed away, none of them wanted to leave until they knew if he was ok. To Max and Dana's surprise, Nelson had insisted he and Chelsea stay too.

When Terry's phone rang, he sprang up and went out onto the street, so he could hear the conversation better. The others sat on the edge of their seat until he came back inside. When he did so, Terry was white.

'Well?' said Nelson.

'He had another seizure in the car.' Terry said slowly, his mouth felt dry, so he wet his lip with his tongue. 'They've got him to his doctor, but they haven't got him stable yet.' Terry's voice broke a little and Dana jumped up and held him.

'It's ok Ter.' She said, rubbing her hands down his arms.

'He's really sick.' Terry said, as though this was the first time he had noticed. Dick was always so strong, he had always assumed that no matter what happened Dick was going to pull through. But that wasn't how Damian had sounded on the phone. Jason and Wally were doing everything they could, but Dick's body was no longer responding. 'Dana.' Terry choked. 'I don't think he's going to make it.'

 **A/N: You knew when you started reading there was going to be angst! I hope you are enjoying this story, we are getting pretty close to the end now so hang in there! Please review! - Karin x**


	30. Chapter 30

When Wally had done his medical training, he had known he would be working predominately with the Justice League and other heroes. He had specialised in traumatic injuries, which had done him well so far. But because he worked with the same people, he had never really had to break bad news to parents. For which he was glad. But it meant he was out of practice and not confident. It also didn't help that he knew the person he was breaking the bad news too.

'West!' Jason glanced back at him as Wally entered the room. 'Come look at this!' He moved his chair out of the way, so Wally could look into the microscope. 'It's working! Kind of.'

Wally looked and saw what Jason was referring too. The formula they were creating to try and dissolve the electrum was working, but it was only dissolving half of the electrum cells in the sample.

'Another couple of weeks and I think it will be ready.' Jason was practically buzzing with excitement. This made what Wally had to say all the harder.

'Jason.' Wally stopped when his voice cracked, he gathered himself and tried again. 'Jason, he doesn't have a few weeks.'

Jason snapped around to look at him.

'What are you talking about?'

'The dialysis is barely working anymore; his body is shutting down.'

Jason fell back in his chair, shock over his face. He knew Dick was getting worse, but he hadn't realised it would happen this fast.

'The virus is in his brain, it's what's causing the seizures.' Wally continued. 'There are also traces in his lungs, it probably won't be long before he can no longer breathe on his own.'

'How long does he have?' Jason whispered.

'Days.' Wally said sadly. 'Maybe a week.'

Jason's lip quivered, and he leant forward to rest his head in his hands. He stayed that way for a few breaths and then looked back up to the redhead.

'What if we put him on longer dialysis? Or put him in the hibernation chamber, just to buy us some more time to make the cure.'

Wally came and knelt in front of his friend.

'Jason, I've just come from Dick's room. As soon as he knew what was happening, he refused treatment.'

Jason pulled back violently.

'What?'

'He doesn't want any more dialysis and he's already made us promise not to put him back in the chamber.' Wally could already see where Jay's mind was going. 'Jason, he's over 18. You can't make this decision for him.'

'He's choosing to die!' Jason shouted.

'He's choosing not to prolong the suffering.' Wally retorted.

Jason shook his head and stood up, storming out of the room, down the corridor and into Dick's room. Dick was sat up in bed against the pillows. Despite looking so small and fragile, Jason had never seen his son look so old and wise. The expression on his face showed all the horrors he had faced in his strange and long life. He looked worn and weary.

Anger flared in Jason's chest. It was not anger at Dick, it was anger at the world, at the situation, at himself for being unable to change anything. But he started shouting at the sick Talon all the same. The Talon sat quietly and let him. Only when Jason broke down in tears did Dick react. He reached for Jason's hand and the elder sat on the edge of the bed.

'It's ok Jason. It's time.' He smiled a weak smile that was filled with pain.

'It's not ok.' Said Jason, sniffing against his tears. He was going to lose Dick all over again. When he had first come to stay at Wayne Manor, he had hated Dick Grayson. The boy was so perfect, and he felt like he was in the older boy's shadow. But after some time, Dick's warm nature had melted his own icy exterior and Jason had grown to love his elder brother. When Dick had run away, he had felt betrayed, when he went missing, Jason had been broken. Having Dick back in his life had started to heal the hole that had been in his heart for over two decades. But now the wound was being ripped open all over again.

'It's not ok.' He repeated.

Dick gripped his hand tighter.

'Yes, it is. I should have died 20 years ago, along with all the others.' Said Dick, no matter how much they all wanted to deny it, the fact remained that he was a Talon. This had been the fate of the Talon's, so it was only right it was his fate too. 'I was given more time, to be with my family. To properly say good bye. I wouldn't change a moment of it.'

As he said these words, Jason realised there was a change in the boy before him. This wasn't the boy who he had taken in as his son. This wasn't Richard Todd. The boy before him was the boy who had woken from the ice, the boy who had been his older brother. This was Dick Grayson. For a moment the years melted away and Jason was a child again, looking at his older brother. He settled on the bed so that he was in Dick's arms. Jason cried again, and he was sure Dick was too. They both knew this was the end. But this time, Jason was glad he could say goodbye.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Without the dialysis diluting his blood, Dick's heightened senses returned. With the pain, the seizures and his breathing becoming more difficult with every breath, the sudden ability to hear everything around him had Dick curled up on his side weeping. Wally had called Annie and she had come to sit with him, cradling him and singing the old Dumbo lullaby to him softly. Dick had calmed down and just lay in her arms in a half daze.

'Is he still mad at me?' he muttered.

'Who?'

'Jason?'

Annie pulled him closer and kissed the top of his head. 'He's not mad at you. He's mad that this is happening to you. We all are.'

There was a moment's silence and she wondered if Dick had fallen asleep.

'I know.' He whispered.

'Know what?'

Slowly, the movement causing him a little pain, Dick brought his hand to touch Annie's belly. 'I can hear the heartbeat.' Dick said.

Annie didn't know what to say. From the moment she had seen the little pink cross on the pregnancy test she had been trying not to think about it.

'Does Jason know?'

'No, I haven't told him yet. He has enough on his mind right now.'

Dick sighed against her. He was currently on Jason's mind right now.

'You'll be a great Mom.' Dick said, swallowing his emotions. He could not let Annie see how much he was hurting.

'I don't know about that.' Said Annie wistfully.

'I do.' Said Dick, 'You've been a great Mom to me.'

Now it was Annie's turn to bite back her tears. She kissed the top of his head again.

'If it's a boy,' whispered Dick. 'Please don't let Jay call it Richard…that would be weird.' He grinned.

'Considering the name he originally put forward for the dog, I don't think your father will be naming anything.'

'What did he want to call Ace?'

'Jeronimo.'

'Oh god.' Dick laughed a wheezy laugh. 'Yeh, please don't let his taste in names anywhere near my future brother.'

Their giggles died down and Dick could feel himself falling asleep again.

'Please tell him. About the baby.'

The breath caught in Annie's throat, it was the first time the word baby had been said out loud. 'It will make him happy.'

She stayed for a long time after Dick had fallen asleep, she counted his breaths as he breathed against her. He was right, she knew he was. There was not much she could do for the boy who had become like a son to her, but she could grant this request for him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jason glanced up from the microscope as she entered, he gave her a tired smile.

'Hey, Babe. Dick asleep?'

She nodded, coming to sit on the chair across the table from him.

'Have you ever thought about being a father?' she said quietly.

'You mean before Dick? Not really.'

'Why not?'

'I always thought I'd be a lousy father. Taking care of Dick proved that.' He rubbed a hand down his tired face. The only role models he had had growing up were his own father who had abused his mother until the day he died, her string of further abusive boyfriends until the day she overdosed. Then there was Bruce, who tried his best but was far from perfect. What hope did Jason have of being a father?

"I think you're a wonderful dad. Especially to Dick.' Said Annie, meeting his eye. He gave her a melancholy smile which she returned.

'What about you?'

She shrugged, 'I'd never really thought about it.' She took a deep breath. 'Until now.'

'Yeh,' said Jay, misunderstanding. 'You've taken on the mothering role very well, considering the circumstances.'

'I didn't mean Dick.' She said. Jason frowned in confusion. She stood from the chair and walked over to him, taking his hands in hers.

'I'm pregnant.' Her expression was apologetic.

'You're what?' Jason asked stupidly.

'I'm pregnant.' She repeated, on the verge of tears- damn hormones. She had been worried that he would be angry at her timing. His adopted son was in the next room dying a slow and painful death and here she was telling him the next one was on the way. She knew it was bad timing, she hadn't wanted to bring it up, she had been avoiding thinking about it. But Dick had wanted her to tell him and she couldn't say no to her little bird.

Suddenly Jason's face lit up. He jumped from his chair and crushed her against him in a bear hug that was very out of character for him.

'You're happy?' she stuttered, her face against his chest.

'Of course, I'm happy!' said Jason, his face suddenly shifted to uncertainty. 'Aren't you?'

'Of course, but I was also feeling so guilty for being happy.' She admitted, thoughts of the dying boy swimming around her mind. 'But Dick seemed happy about it too, he wanted me to tell you.'

'Dick knows?'

'He could hear the heartbeat.' Said Annie thoughtfully. The word heartbeat seemed to touch something inside Jason, he took a step back, his gaze going to her stomach. He touched her. Without a bump, it was hard to imagine that there was an actual person growing there. A person he had helped create. He was going to be a father. He suddenly understood Annie's guilt. He was already a father, not biologically, but he had taken Dick into his care, tried his best to protect him, raise him up from the darkness. But the darkness had been stronger.

Annie seemed to sense his change in mood.

'I know it's early, but I want to go and get a scan.' She said, touching his arm. 'So that Dick can see.'

Jason agreed. Dick would like that. He picked up his phone from his desk, taking a quick final look into the microscope. He froze.

'Annie,' he shouted. 'Come look at this.'

She walked over to him and looked into the scope.

'It's working!'

Annie stared in disbelief. Sure enough, the new cure had attacked all of the electrum cells in the blood sample, the remaining virus cells were beginning to die.

'What did you do differently?'

'I don't know.' Said Jason in dismay. He sat and thought for a moment. 'I used a smaller sample.' He breathed. 'We were running out of blood, but Dick was having a bad morning, so I didn't want to take more.' He looked over to his girlfriend, breathing heavily. 'The formula works, but it can only do a little at a time.'

'Can we increase the dose?'

Jason shook his head. 'No, we've tried that. It plays havoc with the blood cells themselves.'

'So, if we can find a way to mix the cure with his blood a little at a time, we can cure him?'

Jason beamed at her, nodding furiously. 'If I'm right, and I think I am, then yes!'

 **A/N To the 'Guest' who reviewed saying to want me to finish so you can share the story with your friend, you're review literally made my day! I was sat in McDonald's finishing off this chapter when your review came through and I literally said out loud 'I'm working on it!'. Thank you as well to everyone else who reviews, it motivates me so much to hear that you are enjoying my story...although a few of you have started referring to it as a book, which confused me until I saw how many words we are on...77k...ok, this is now a book! Please review! Karin x**


	31. Chapter 31

When Damian arrived at the mountain the next morning, he walked into the med bay to find a very worn looking West. The red-headed speedster looked up as he approached, the bags under his eyes shone on his pale, freckled face.

'Jesus, West you look awful.' Said Dami. 'Have you been to sleep recently?' He said it with his usual cold tone, but there was also underlining concern.

'Dick's lung almost collapsed during the night.' Said Wally, covering a yawn. He opened the door to Dick's room. The boy was asleep, an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth, every breath sounded laboured. 'Jay and I were up half the night trying to keep him relatively stable.'

'Why isn't he ventilated?' asked Damian, though he already thought he knew the answer.

'He refused.' Said Wally with a shrug. 'He is refusing any kind of treatment that might prolong his life. He will only allow me to make him more comfortable.'

'So, he wants to die.' Said Damian, more to himself than to West.

'No, I think he's in pain.' Said Wally thoughtfully. 'He tries not to let us see, but he's in so much pain. Even the medication I'm giving him now isn't touching it.'

Damian sighed, a few months ago they were worried that Dick was unable to die, if only they had known the reaper was already closing in.

'Where is Todd?'

'Annie dragged him off somewhere, must have been important or Jason wouldn't have left.'

'Go and get some sleep West, I'll sit with Richard.'

The speedster nodded and left Damian with his nephew. Damian sat down beside the bed and watched the other male's chest rise and fall in uneven patterns. Every breath appeared to be hard work for him.

As though sensing the new pair of eyes watching him, Dick's eyelids lifted slowly, and the bright yellow eyes shifted to the side.

'Hello, Richard.' Said Dami, quietly. 'I hear you've had quite the night.'

Dick blinked a few times before slowly raising his hand to the mask on his mouth and pulling it down.

'I want…this to….be…over.' Dick breathed. Damian nodded and tried not to react too much to what the younger had just said; he knew he was probably the only person Dick would talk like this in front of. Damian was the one person who would not judge even his darkest thoughts.

'I know, Richard.'

'Promise me.'

'Promise you what?' Damian sat forward so that Dick wouldn't have to strain himself too much to be heard.

'Promise me…you…won't let them…. put me…. on…. ice.' He took a moment to catch his breath. 'I don't want…to…. drag…this out.'

Damian looked uneasy.

'You once said…. you would kill….me your…self.' Dick said calmly, 'I'm not asking you to….do that. Just …. don't …let them ….' He began to cough, and Damian jumped forward to press the mask back over his face.

'Richard.' Damian hesitated, he knew as soon as he promised what Richard was requesting, he was basically letting the boy die.

Dick pushed Damian's hand and the mask away, so he could talk. 'I am…a… dead man…walking.' Dick wheezed. 'Please. Dami. As a lawyer. Please.'

Dami caved. He got the message. Dick was assigning him with a verbal DNR. Do not resuscitate. Dick wasn't just telling him because Damian wouldn't judge him. He was asking Damian because he knew Dami would stand his ground against Jason. Just like he did in court.

'I promise. I won't let them put you in the ice or make your pain last longer than needs be.'

Dick closed his eyes in relief and slipped back into unconsciousness.

Damian sat for a long time. When Grayson had disappeared, he had wished that he had been able to at least say goodbye. He thought there could be nothing worse than not knowing what had happened to him. He was wrong. Watching him slowly die right before his eyes was worse. Much worse.

'You alright son?' Bruce quietly entered the room and took the seat next to his youngest son.

Damian's only response was the tightening of his jaw. But Bruce seemed to understand the silent answer.

'He seems to be deteriorating faster than the others.' Bruce mused. The other Talon's had lasted weeks, withering in agony, their bodies beginning to break down and decay while they were still alive. Although Dick was in agony, from what Wally had told him on the phone, Dick would slip away by the end of the week. It was a small mercy, that the boy would be spared the full horror of what this virus could do.

'It's because he's not fighting it.' Said Damian. 'The others fought until their last breath. It was in their nature.'

A whimper came from the bed, Dick turned over in his sleep, curling in on himself and letting out another whimper of pain. Bruce raised himself from his chair and lowered himself onto the edge of the bed. He started rubbing slow circles into Dick's back. He could feel each vertebra in Dick's spine through his sleep shirt.

'West said the pain medication wasn't enough anymore.' Said Damian quietly. Bruce continued to rub the soothing circles and the whimpers died down again. But the new position was putting pressure on his lung and Dick suddenly started to choke. Bruce took him by his shoulders, pulling him up into a sitting position and pressing the mask to the youngers mouth, encouraging him to take deep breaths.

'Deep breaths, Dickie. There you go, well done.'

Despite the rough handling and choking sensation, Dick's eyes remained hooded and his level of consciousness was not complete. Once he was breathing again, Bruce lay him against the pillows and pushed some loose hair from his face. When he turned back to his son, Damian had a stony expression.

'It won't be long now. Will it?'

'If his lungs are failing, then no.' said Bruce. 'Without ventilation, he won't be able to survive long. It will only take a bad seizure or a collapsed lung.' He took a deep breath himself to steady his emotions. 'The pain will be over for him soon.'

Neither of them wanted to leave, the unsaid worry in the room that if they did it would be the last time, they saw the boy alive. They had been there several hours when the door opened again, and Jason emerged from the corridor.

'Hi.' He said, coming fully inside and followed closely by Annie.

'We'll give you some space.' Said Bruce, but Jason waved him to sit back down.

'No, stay, please. We have something to tell you both.' He turned his head over his shoulder to watch Annie walk over to the bed and kneel down so that she was level with its occupant.

'Dick.' She said, touching his arm. 'Dickie, can you hear me?'

They could see how much effort it took, but Dick pealed his eyes open and looked over at her.

'I have something to show you.' She looked down into her bag and pulled out an envelope from which she pulled a glossy picture. Dick frowned as he tried to work out what it was but once he recognised it, he lifted his hand and gently touched the scan with his shaking fingers. He smiled beneath the oxygen mask. He brought his hand to the plastic and brought it down.

'My bets…on a girl.' He breathed.

'No chance, it's a boy, I can feel it in my bones.' Jason winked.

'You're…on.' Dick made a sound that was halfway between a chuckle and a wheeze. It was a sound an old man with influenza might make; coming from an eighteen-year-old boy the sound did not seem right. The action of raising his arm and talking had once again tired the boy out and his eyes fell shut once more.

'We should let him sleep.' Said Bruce, pushing himself from the chair. He led his flock out into the seating area they had set up a little way down the corridor from Dick's room. It seemed the majority of them were spending a lot of their time around Dick and the lab, it seemed only right that they create a space for downtime. It wasn't much, just a few comfortable chairs collected in an out of the way area. They settled into the chairs and properly discussed the fact that Annie and Jason were having a baby. Bruce was so pleased for them, especially when he could see how happy it was making Jason. But Annie still seemed somewhat unsure about everything.

'I just wish the timing had been better.' She muttered, gripping her hands together tightly in her lap.

'I wouldn't say the timing was too bad.' Said Damian, looking unusually melancholy. 'Did you see how happy it made Dick?'

It was true, the joy on Dick's face when she had shown him the scan had been wonderful.

'Are we having a mothers meeting?' came Wally's voice as he approached them.

'Kind of.' Said Annie, holding up the picture of the scan.

Wally blanched, pointing at her then at Jason. 'You're…? Oh my God! Congratulations!' He slapped Jason on the back. 'I'm presuming it's yours.'

Annie glared at the redhead and he chuckled, holding his hands up apologetically.

'When are you due?'

'Christmas time.' The word Christmas hung in the air for a moment, it was hard to think about future celebration, knowing that Dick would not be there with them. Wally broke the poignant silence by asking whether they knew the sex of the baby. Jason once again joked that he had father's intuition that the baby was going to be a boy.

'Has anyone spoken to Terry recently?' asked Damian. When he had left the boy at the coffee shop, the new Batman had been white.

Annie nodded. 'Tim's been to see him. I don't think he is doing too well.' She sighed sadly. 'It's not surprising, Terry's very close to Dick.'

'He's staying home from school for the moment and Tim's keeping an eye on him.' Said Bruce. 'It's going to be hard, but he will be alright.' He looked up at them all. His family. A group of people who had all lived through unimaginable pain. 'We all will because it's what Dick would want.'

They nodded in agreement. If Dick knew had much pain, they were all feeling because of his sickness, he would be inconsolable. They would face his death as they faced everything else. With their heads held high, looking towards the future not wallowing in the past.

For a while they sat in comfortable silence, an atmosphere of peace falling over them all.

But it was the calm before the storm.

As soon as the alarm from the next room began to call out, Wally and Jason were on their feet and running. Damian followed them, but the others stayed, not wanting to get in the way. Annie held back too. It was selfish, and she hated herself for it, but she couldn't bear to see. If this was the end, she wanted her last image of Dick to be his smile when he looked at the baby scan. It was selfish, and she hoped Dick would forgive her.

When the three men entered the room, they were greeted by the sight of Dick's body violently seizing on the bed. Wally ran to the supply cupboard and filled a syringe with a clear liquid which he then injected into the tube coming from Dick's arm that had been feeding him fluids. For a long moment, it didn't look like the drug was going to work, Dick's body continued to twitch and whither but finally the seizure dissipated, and his limbs relaxed. But as he settled and took a breath, his lungs crackled in a breathy sound. They all knew what it meant. Death.

'Ventilate him.' Shouted Jason to the speedster. 'Now!'

'No!' Damian stood between Dick and the other men. 'It's not what he wants.'

Jason squared up to his little brother, shaking with anger and worry.

'Damian if you do not let me do this, I will never forgive you.'

'I can live with that.' Said Damian in a stony voice.

'He is going to die!'

Damian pushed Jay back, causing the older man to stumble slightly.

'Todd! He is in pain!' Damian slammed his hand down on the dialysis machine that had been stored in the room since the last time it was used. 'We can't fix him, Jason, it's time to let him go.'

Jason's gaze went from Damian's face where his hand had struck the surface of the machine. His expression went from one of anger to one of realisation.

'What if I can fix him.' Without another word, Jason disappeared out of the door, returning several minutes later with a clear bag of liquid.

'The formula we created couldn't handle large quantities of electrum in one go. But!' He pulled out the dialysis machine, opening its top and started fiddling with the wires within the back. 'If we link up the cure with the dialysis it will add the formula to the blood as it cleans it. When the blood goes back into the body it will be mixed with the formula and will act like a vaccine, so the blood won't become polluted again.'

Damian shook his head, leaning over the machine to bring his face closer to his brothers.

'That's all very well, but what about the damage?'

'What damage?'

'Todd, his body is failing. Even with the virus gone, the damage has already been done. At best he will still slip away in his sleep, at worst you'll prolong the agony!' He touched Jason's arm, a rare moment of compassion towards the elder. 'I'm sorry, Jason. It's too late.'

Jason looked at him for a long moment, both of them paused in a moment of time. Finally, Jason dropped his hands.

'Is he in any pain right now?' He said, looking over to Wally. The redhead checked the boy on the bed over and shook his head.

'He's fallen into a coma. Another hour or two and it will be over.'

Damian squeezed Jay's shoulder.

'You did your best Todd, there's nothing any of us could have done.'

'Not necessarily.' A voice said and the shadowing in the corner grew until Raven's form emerged; her ability to arrive just when required, uncanny.

'If you can remove the cause of the damage then I can heal him enough to give him a fighting chance.'

The men looked at her like she had grown a second head.

'While the virus was still running through his system nothing I could do would make a difference. As Damian said, it would only have prolonged the agony. But if the virus is no longer a problem, his body stands a chance of healing.' She turned to Jason. 'Do you think your formula will work?'

'I know it will.'

'Then it is a case of whether Damian will waver his DNR.'

'Did Dick sign anything?' Jason snapped, anticipation making him on edge.

Damian glared. 'I'm a lawyer as well as his uncle, a verbal agreement is all I need.' He held up a hand to silence Jason's response. 'But I will waver the DNR. On the understanding that we are not putting him on life support. If it doesn't work, we are letting him go.'

Jason agreed and Dami nodded. 'Save him.'

The next few hours had everyone on edge. Wally and Jason hooked the cure up to the machine and the machine up to Dick. They sat and watched over him for hours, ready to react in an instant if he was in trouble. Raven sat in the corner, her eyes closed, and she meditated, waiting for an opportunity to begin her work.

They checked his blood every half hour, looking for a sign that the treatment was working. But in every sample, the electrum and the virus were still prominent and at war with each other.

Dick's breathing still had the dead man's crackle, and Wally was starting to worry that the boy would die before the treatment had a chance to be effective. After four hours of no change, they were all tired. Jason was sat beside Dick, his head resting in his hand, his elbow on his knee and his eyes closed. Wally took another sample of blood and wearily took it over to the microscope.

'Todd, get over here.' He said, his voice buzzing with excitement. 'It's working, look!'

Jason jumped up and ran to his side, looking for himself. The sample was clean of electrum and the remaining virus cells were beginning to die.

'We did it.' Jason breathed before turning to Raven. 'Are you ready?'

She approached the bed and raised her hands above the body.

'Azarath Metreon Zinthos. Azarath Metreon Zinthos.' She chanted under her breath, her eyes turned black as she went into a trance.

'All we can do now is wait.' Said Wally, slapping Jason on the arm.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

For nearly 24 hours Raven stayed in her trance, not moving or resting. She refused to let herself take a break, knowing that even a few moments could be the difference between life and death for the boy she had once called Robin. He had saved her once, brought her back from the darkness of her own fear. Now she would repay the favour, she would not let him fall into deaths grip, not without the odds being fair, not without giving him a chance to fight. Finally, as the sun began to crawl into the sky for the second time, Raven drop her hands and sank to her knees. Jason, who had been resting in the chair beside her, awoke and went to her side.

'I have done all I can.' She said weakly, 'It's up to him now.'

'Thank you, Raven.'

She nodded, 'You do realise, if he survives, the recovery will be intensive.'

He sighed deeply, he knew this would be the case. To recover from this ordeal was going to take time, perhaps years. But it would be worth it, if Dick could go back to being himself. Well, almost.

Closing her eyes, darkness flowed around her, sinking into the ground. She was gone.

Jason pulled the chair back to the bed and sat, taking hold of Dick's hand. The younger male didn't look any different, but the crackling to his breath was gone replaced by strained but even breathing.

'Ok Buddy, it's up to you now.' Said Jason, resting his forehead against Dick's hand. 'I can understand if you've had enough. God, anyone would understand. But please, if you can hear me.' He sat up and looked into the former Talon's face. 'Please give life another go. Having you as my son was the best thing that could have happened to me. And you'll have a new baby brother to take care of. You were always so good at being a big brother.'

Jason wasn't sure if Dick could hear him. They were keeping him in an induced coma for now, so who knows. But he continued anyway.

'I can't promise I'll be the best dad, or that we won't disagree. But I promise, I'll try my best to make sure you have the best life. Just, please. Live.'


	32. Chapter 32

**3 Years Later**

Jason stared at the computer screen in front of him, but he couldn't concentrate. He sat back in his chair and looked down at the small child at his feet. The little girl's dark hair was falling out of its braid as she sat on the floor playing with her toy horses.

Jason watched her for a while, envying her complete absorption into her own world of pretending. It was all very well him working from home to take care of his daughter, but she was such a distraction; he could happily watch her all day.

Finally sensing his eyes on her, the little girl looked up and pouted.

'Are you finished?' she whined.

'Nearly.' Said Jason, glancing back at his screen. He was nowhere near finished.

'When Mommy back?'

'Soon. When she finishes work.'

'Why she go to work?' The child grumped, she was used to having both of her parents around. As much as she loved her daddy, she hated it when her mommy went to work.

'Because your Mom is a very clever lady who Grandpa needs to run his company.'

The child sighed dramatically and went back to her play.

Jason glanced at the calendar on his desk, not that he had forgotten the date. It was the anniversary of that day. He switched off his screen, work could wait till later.

'Gracie, do you want to go and see Dick?'

The little girl lit up, scrambling to get to her feet and running out the room to find her shoes. With Jason's help, she found and put them on along with her coat, the early spring air still a little chilly.

She chatted excitedly to him from her car seat in the back while they drove the 20-minute drive to their destination; pulling into the small parking lot of Gotham's private cemetery. He took her small hand in his own and led her up the gravelled path towards the Wayne plot.

Jason had always hated it here; waking up in your own grave will put you off a place. But today, with the sun shining and his daughter's presence beside him, it felt oddly calm and still. Peaceful.

As they approached the Wayne's plot, Jason smiled.

'I thought I might find you here.' He said.

The man by the graves looked around, his bright green eyes shining in the sunlight.

'I know I shouldn't, someone might see me. But it felt wrong not to visit on the anniversary.'

'Dick, if you want to visit your parents, it's alright.' Said Jason. His son had forgone every part of his old life, this last connection was something he would never make the boy let go of. Well, he was no longer a boy. In the last three years, Dick had aged and grown taller. He still looked young, but he now resembled the 21-year-old he was.

After the treatment to cure the virus and after Raven's final attempt at healing his broken body, it had taken Dick a further week to wake up from his coma. When he did, he cried in pain as his body felt human for the first time in over twenty years. His senses were dulled, he spent the first few days practically deaf and blind, but slowly they adjusted, and he was able to see. His hearing improved but even three years on he struggled to pinpoint sounds if there was too much going on. The sound filters still came in handy on these occasions.

When he was released from Wally's care and able to return to the manor, the long task of his recuperation began. Over the course of the next year, he learnt to live with his human body; relearning to walk and even how to properly use his hands. Everything felt so weak and useless without his Talon strength.

He had felt especially useless during the last few weeks of Annie's pregnancy. The woman was tired and weary. Dick had wanted nothing more than to help her, but he simply wasn't able too. But after Gracie was born, Dick had instantly fallen in love with her (and rubbed it in Jason's face that he had won the bet), and his frustrations became more contented with the small baby around. He would sit for hours watching her, soothing her when she cried. Dick had cried himself when Annie had finally convinced him he wouldn't hurt her and had lowered the precious bundle into his arms.

By the second year, Dick began homeschooling. Not being strong enough to re-join his classmates had frustrated Dick, especially when he had attended Terry and his friend's graduation. But he had been there, he had already missed so much, so he was glad he could finally be there for his friend on a big occasion. The graduation ceremony had motivated Dick to continue his schooling, within a few months he had completed the work he had missed out on due to his illness.

By the end of the second year, Dick had regained his strength to a degree that would be normal for most people. But having been Robin before he was ever a Talon, Dick knew he was capable of so much more. He began working out again, slowly at first, going for runs and building up his stamina but by the third year, he was once again training with Terry. The training had rebuilt his body, filling it out and finally making him look his age for the first time.

As Jason stood in the cemetery, waiting for Dick to finish arranging the flowers on the grave, he regarded him properly for the first time in several months. It was hard to believe that the man before him, well built, strong and mature, was the same boy who had been led on a bed on the brink of death not three years prior. Time really could heal everything.

Dick wiped the moisture from the flowers on his jeans and turned back to his family. Jason released the little girl's hand and she ran up to her brother. Dick scooped her into his arms and blew a raspberry into the side of her face, making the child squeal with delight.

Gracie adored her big brother, she'd never know how close she came to never knowing him. Her laughter rang out through the quiet cemetery as she raced her brother back to the car.

'Can you watch Grace this afternoon, I really need to get some work done.' Asked Jason when they reached the parking lot.

'Sure,' said Dick. 'I'll meet you back at home.'

'I wanna go with Dick.' Said Gracie, clinging to her brothers' leg.

'Dick's got his bike baby.' Said Jason, opening the car door for her.

'I wanna go on the bike.'

'Maybe when you're a bit bigger.' Said Dick, lifting his little sister into the car.

'Yeh, I'd like to see you get past your mother.' Jason chuckled, 'She's not keen on you riding that thing again, let alone Gracie.'

'I'm perfectly fine!' Dick responded.

'I know, she just worries.' Said Jason, 'You're not indestructible remember.' He winked and got in the car himself.

'Yeh, trust me I know.' Dick held up a hand that was bandaged from his last work out. His flesh was still building resistance and his knuckles still split often when he was using the punching bags. He waved them off as they drove away.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Later that evening, they were all hanging around the kitchen. Jason was cooking whilst talking to Bruce, who sat at the island petting Ace. The old hound looked up at his master with loving eyes.

Dick was sat on the window seat, Gracie on his lap showing him the latest stickers in her collection.

'Have you thought any more about college Dick?' asked Bruce. The young man shook his head.

'I dunno what I want to do.' Said Dick, 'It wasn't something I needed to think about until recently.' He shrugged.

'You said you wanted to look into joining the police.' Said Jason, stirring the sauce on the hob absentmindedly. 'Why don't you have a chat with Gordon?'

'I did.' Said Dick wistfully. 'Apparently, almost D-Y-I-N-G of multiple organ failure counts as having a pre-existing medical condition. She said to give it a few more years.'

'Give it time Buddy.' Jason said encouragingly.

Dick smiled a genuine smile. 'I don't mind, I'm happy where I am at the moment.' He was currently working shifts at a bar in Gotham, it wasn't much but he enjoyed it and it was something to occupy his time. For once, time actually seemed to be on his side.

The front door opened and shut, and Gracie launched herself from Dick's lap.

'Mommy!' she cried, running to Annie's arms as she entered the kitchen.

'Hello, my angel.' She planted a kiss on her daughters' cheek before leaning over and giving Jason a quick peck too.

'Hey, mom, good day? Said Dick.

'Yes, thank you, honey.' Said Annie, kissing the top of his head. 'As of next week, we will be officially Wayne Tech once more. All trace of Powers finally dissolved.'

'That's what I like to hear.' Said Bruce. 'You've handled it all beautifully.'

'That's why you put me in charge.' Annie winked before turning back to her daughter. 'And what have you been up to today?'

'Mommy, can I go on Dick's bike?' the child asked innocently.

'Absolutely not.'

They went about their evening routine of dinner, clearing up, bathing Gracie and then settling down on the couch for family time. Annie was led across the sofa while Jason rubbed her sore feet. Dick sat on the recliner with his sister draped across his chest, deep in sleep. They were watching Dumbo, which was one of Gracie's favourites. The film brought a warm feeling to Dick's chest as he thought about his time in the hospital and the woman, he now called Mom, comforting him.

'Well isn't this a pretty picture.' Terry popped his head around the door. He looked over to Dick. 'You ready to get going?'

Dick nodded, gently sitting up and lifting Grace up with him. He carried her over to Annie and slowly lowered her into her mother's arms.

'Be careful.' Annie said quietly. 'Don't take any unnecessary risks.'

'Ok, Mom.' Dick grinned. 'See you tomorrow.'

He followed Terry down to the cave where Bruce was already set up at the Bat-computer.

'A few hours, and then you come back.' He said to Dick, who nodded.

'I know Bruce.'

'It looks like a quiet night but take it steady. You've been out of service for a long time.

'He'll be fine.' Said Terry, already suited up. 'Go get suited, I'll wait in the Batwing.'

An hour later they were both stood on the roof of one of the tall buildings in downtown Gotham. Below them were a group of thieves running from the police.

'You ready?'

'Let's go!'

Batman jumped down in front of them.

'Shit it's the Bat!' They turned on themselves and tried to escape from the direction they had just come. But another figure blocked their path. Dark hair and a domino mask covering his face, his suit was black apart from the large blue bird emblazoned on his chest.

'Who the hell are you?'

Dick smirked, adrenaline fuelling his body. How he had missed the adrenaline.

'I'm Nightwing.'

 _ **End**_

 **A/N OMG, I can't believe it is finally finished! This was originally meant to be a quick story, but it took on a life of its own and became a full-length novel! I am actually very proud of this story, I think it is some of my best work. Thank you for sticking with me on this journey and for reading through all of the chapters! I may make a prequal at some point, as I mentioned in an earlier chapter. But for the moment I think I am going to leave this story where it is! Thank you again for reading, please review to let me know whether you enjoyed The Boy In The Ice! Until Next time - Karin x**


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